Türkiye, Egypt to work closely on issues of Syria, Libya: Turkish FM

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) shakes hands with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at a joint press conference in Ankara, Trkiye, on April 13, 2023. Trkiye and Egypt will work closely on regional issues, particularly on Libya and Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANKARA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Trkiye and Egypt will work closely on regional issues, particularly on Libya and Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

"We want to fill the new page we opened with Egypt with joint projects and success stories," Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference with visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

Bringing about permanent peace and stability in Syria are important to both Trkiye and Egypt, said Cavusoglu, adding the two countries have agreed to work closely and exchange views in this regard.

According to Cavusoglu, the two ministers also discussed plans to hold a summit between the presidents of the two countries and mutually appoint ambassadors.

"We will inform you of a joint statement in the coming period for raising the relations to the ambassador level. Until then, we will continue to take some steps," he noted.

For his part, Shoukry said Egypt is willing to develop bilateral relations with Trkiye, because the two countries were connected by "a historical past" and the peoples from both countries will benefit from the rapprochement of Ankara and Cairo.

The Egyptian minister also said that Egypt and Trkiye have a common understanding regarding Libya.

"We agree on the establishment of a government that will reflect the will of the people and preserve Libya's territorial integrity," he said.

Ankara and Cairo will also coordinate on the Palestinian cause, he added.

Shoukry's visit to Ankara is part of the joint efforts of Trkiye and Egypt to improve their bilateral relations following a decade of political tensions and diplomatic rifts.

Their ties had turned sour since late 2013, when the two countries expelled each other's ambassadors after former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was ousted in July of that year and his Trkiye-backed Muslim Brotherhood group was outlawed.

The two countries also sparred over a range of other issues, including the war in Libya, where they backed rival sides, and maritime disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The symbolic handshake between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in November 2022, on the sidelines of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, accelerated normalization efforts between the two countries.

After the deadly earthquakes jolted southeastern Trkiye in early February, Sisi quickly extended his condolences to Erdogan over the phone and sent relief materials to the quake-hit zones in Trkiye.

Cavusoglu visited Cairo and held talks with Shoukry in March. It was the first meeting between the two countries' top diplomats in 11 years.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attend a joint press conference in Ankara, Trkiye, on April 13, 2023. Trkiye and Egypt will work closely on regional issues, particularly on Libya and Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attend a joint press conference in Ankara, Trkiye, on April 13, 2023. Trkiye and Egypt will work closely on regional issues, particularly on Libya and Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)