Turkey, Egypt forge common stance on Gaza, pledge to cooperate on trade, energy

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egypt's leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday called for a ceasefire in Gaza and greater deliveries of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, while signing cooperation agreements on trade and energy.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egypt’s leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said they wanted to deepen their cooperation as they met in Ankara Wednesday to seal their mended ties.

“We will strengthen our cooperation in all areas,” said Erdogan, who visited Sisi in Cairo in mid-February when the two leaders said they had turned over a “new leaf” in their ties.

Ankara and Cairo had cut ties in 2013 after Sisi, then defence minister, ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, an ally of Turkey and part of the Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Erdogan said at the time he would never speak to “anyone” like Sisi, who in 2014 became president of the Arab world’s most populous nation.

But relations have warmed over the past two years as their interests aligned on several issues, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

On Wednesday, the two leaders signed 17 cooperation agreements, according to the Turkish presidency.

(AFP)


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