Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Egypt to attend a planned peace summit in the Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi on Monday welcomed Erdogan, Egypt’s state-run Al Qahera News Channel said. Accompanying Erdogan were Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) head Ibrahim Kalin, Türkiye’s Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran, and Chief Foreign Policy and Security Advisor Akif Cagatay Kilic.
Erdogan, who arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi and US President Donald Trump, then proceeded with his delegation to the International Convention Center, where the summit will be held to discuss the ceasefire agreement reached in Gaza.
The Turkish president is expected to attend the signing ceremony of the Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement and hold consultations with leaders from participating countries during the summit.
New phase of regional security, stability
Heads of state and senior officials from several countries also arrived in Egypt to participate in an international peace summit on Gaza.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was welcomed by Sisi ahead of the summit opening, Al Qahera said.
Also arriving were French President Emmanuel Macron, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Pakistani Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and the Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit also arrived at the summit venue.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Gianni Infantino were also received by the Egyptian president.
Delegations from Paraguay and the Netherlands also arrived in the Egyptian city, the channel reported, without specifying the level of participation.
More than 20 world leaders are expected to attend the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, which will be co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi and his American counterpart, Donald Trump.
Israel and Hamas have no direct contacts and are not expected to attend the summit. Israel has rejected any role in Gaza for the internationally backed Palestinian Authority, whose leader is coming.
Egypt said the summit aims “to end the war in Gaza, enhance efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, and usher in a new phase of regional security and stability.”
Establishment of new Gaza governing mechanism
Trump announced on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a 20-point plan he laid out on September 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli hostages being held there in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire enclave.
The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Friday under Trump’s plan to end a two-year Israeli war on the enclave.
A second phase of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza, the formation of a security force comprising Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 67,800 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, leaving the enclave largely uninhabitable.
