Report by Toni Mrad, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi
After years of estrangement, the picture changed, and on February 14, 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Cairo with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Several reasons have kept the two countries apart.
In 2013, the Egyptian army, along with Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, overthrew Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, whom Erdogan supported.
At that time, the Turkish President accused his counterpart, El-Sisi, of leading a coup against the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt classifies as a terrorist group.
Relations between the two presidents tensed over Libya, as Ankara supports the UN-recognized interim government in Libya's capital, Tripoli, while Egypt supports the forces of Khalifa Haftar, who controls the eastern part of the country.
The return of Egyptian-Turkish relations did not happen overnight. Still, it was preceded by intelligence meetings since 2021, culminating in a handshake between the Turkish President and his Egyptian counterpart during the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Afterward, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry extended condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Turkey last year, in addition to a meeting between the Turkish Foreign Minister and his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo in 2023.
After things return to normal, what is Turkey's and Egypt's interest in ruling out the problems between them?
Ultimately, the presence of the Turkish President in Egypt confirms a phrase that Erdogan himself, and before him, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, often repeated: "In politics, there are no permanent enemies."