A new era has officially begun between Turkey and Egypt, two important countries of the Islamic World. The two Islamic countries, which have common denominators in religious, historical, geographical, cultural and many other areas, seem determined to mutually increase their gains.
The presidents of the two countries, which are ineffective in preventing Israeli terrorism in Gaza, will hold talks regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
We analyzed all aspects of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Egypt for Milli Gazete readers.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is paying an official visit to Egypt today. Erdogan, who visited Egypt as the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey when Egypt's late President Muhammad Morsi was in power, is in Egypt again after 12 years.
This visit, which Erdoğan made to Egypt for the first time as president, also means fully legitimizing the coup leader Sisi, whom he criticized for many years with adjectives such as 'murderer' and 'dictator'.
Erdogan's agenda, which is in Egypt upon the official invitation of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, includes important issues regarding the current problems of the Middle East.
The most important agenda items of the visit are 'Israeli occupation in Gaza', 'energy sharing in the Eastern Mediterranean', 'reconciliation talks in Libya' and 'unmanned aerial vehicles for sale from Turkey to Egypt'.
NORMALIZATION PROCESS HAS BEEN WORKING FOR 3 YEARS
The dark traces of the military coup that took place in 2013 in Egypt, one of the most established Islamic countries in the Middle East, still continue to affect.
On July 3, 2013, the coup army led by General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi carried out an armed usurpation against Egypt's legitimate president, the late Muhammad Morsi, and the Muslim Brotherhood Movement.
Turkey took a harsh stance against the Sisi regime in the first days of the coup, and diplomatic relations between Egypt and Turkey were reduced to their lowest level.
The crisis period, which lasted for about 7 years, was replaced by 'win-win' politics dominated by mutual interest relations in 2020.
Long-term diplomatic contacts resulted in the meeting of President Erdoğan and Sisi in 2023, and the period of friendship between the two countries began again.
THE HOTEST AGENDA OF THE MEETING: GAZA
The attitudes of Turkey and Egypt in the mass destruction attacks launched by Israel against Palestinian lands on October 7 became the subject of criticism in the international community.
Comments were made that Turkey and Egypt, two ancient countries of the Islamic World, had the potential to contribute more to the Palestinian resistance, and that the administrations of both countries did not contribute as much as they could to Palestine's struggle for existence.
While the government of the Republic of Turkey was criticized for continuing trade with Israel, Egypt was accused of keeping the border gate with Gaza closed and acting irresponsibly regarding the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Muslims in Turkey and Egypt had very serious expectations from the governments of their countries, but neither government could pass a good test in the struggle for Palestine. While Gazan Muslims were dying under Israel's brutal attacks, Egypt created difficulties in aid passage to Gaza through the border gates because it was afraid of Israel's pressure.
Egypt cites the fact that its state policy is against the expulsion of Gazans from its territory as the reason for not opening the Rafah Border Gate. Türkiye also stands in the same line as Egypt against the Judaization of Gaza.
ENERGY SHARING IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
The most important point of common interest between Turkey and Egypt in foreign policy is the gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey and Egypt, which have been walking with different allies for many years, decided to commonize their interests in 2020.
Former Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu's intense diplomatic contacts and Turkey's dominant insistence had brought the two countries closer together. Milli Gazete has repeatedly covered the importance of the Eastern Mediterranean factor in the Egypt-Turkey normalization.
For many years, Egypt followed a common maritime policy with Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus. Turkey, on the other hand, was united on the basis of common policies with its permanent ally, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Libya.
Realizing that its interests in the Eastern Mediterranean were damaged in 2020, the Egyptian administration embraced the fact that it would gain more if it got closer to Turkey. Recently, important studies have been carried out between Turkish and Egyptian authorities specifically in the Eastern Mediterranean. In this context, 'win-win' policies in the Eastern Mediterranean will have an important place in the meeting between Erdogan and Sisi.
SIGNALS OF RECONCILIATION IN LIBYA
One of the critical issues of the crisis period between Turkey and Egypt was the power struggle in Libya. While Turkey cooperates with the Tripoli-based government in Libya, Egypt supports General Haftar based in Benghazi.
The bipolar conflict environment in Libya, where political stability could not be achieved after Gaddafi, brought Turkey and Egypt face to face. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan held contacts in Libya last week.
Fidan said in his statement here that they are trying to improve relations with Haftar's forces, which are supported by Egypt.
Fidan said: “As you know, Turkey's relations with the eastern side (Haftar) are gradually progressing. At this point, we continue to work with the actors there. We have decided to reopen our Consulate General in Benghazi, we will open it soon. "Our companies have started working again, and on the other hand, we continue our efforts to play a constructive role in the Libyan issue with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and our other regional friends."
THE TRUTH FORGOTTEN AT THE AGREEMENT TABLE: THE IKHWAN
The issue of 'Ikhwan' was one of the main points of disagreement between Turkey and Egypt during the 2013-2020 crisis period.
The Turkish government, which sided with Egypt's legitimate President Mohammed Morsi in the 2013 coup, has also shelved its policy of openly and unconditionally embracing the Muslim Brotherhood since 2020, when normalization with the Sisi regime began.
Thousands of Brotherhood members who had to leave Egypt because they were oppressed and oppressed by the Sisi regime are currently struggling to survive in Turkey.
It does not go unnoticed that President Erdoğan has never mentioned the Muslim Brotherhood in his discourses about Egypt since the start of normalization with the Sisi regime.
BOTH SIDES WANT TO INCREASE THEIR TRADE FIGURES
The economic crisis that Turkey is in causes new doors to be sought in foreign trade in order to provide sustainable resources to the Treasury. In this context, new economic agreements will be made and existing agreements will be revised during Erdoğan's visit to Egypt.
New agreements will be sought in many areas such as trade, tourism, investment and defense industry. It is a known fact that Egypt, Turkey's largest trade partner in Africa, shows great interest in Turkey's defense industry products. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan recently stated that the sale of unmanned aerial vehicles to Egypt may be in question. Egypt's geopolitical location and regional risks further increase its need for Turkish-made defense industry products.