Turkish FM Cavusoglu to visit Egypt as ties between the two nations ease

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Egypt, Ankara announced on Friday, the first such high-level trip in more than a decade, as the two countries mend relations damaged in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring.

A statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Cavusoglu will visit Egypt on Saturday at the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry. 

The ministers will discuss bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues, the statement said.

"All aspects of our bilateral relations will be discussed, and views will be exchanged on regional and international issues," Türkiye's foreign ministry added.

The visit "inaugurates a path for restoring normal relationships between the two countries," Egypt's foreign ministry said in a simultaneous statement.

Cavusoglu’s trip follows Shoukry’s visit to Türkiye’s earthquake-hit region last month.

READ MORE: Egypt's top diplomat visits Türkiye in wake of devastating earthquakes

Diplomatic relations between Ankara and Cairo have been strained for almost a decade due to several issues ranging from maritime disputes to supporting different actors in Libya.

Shoukry's visit to Türkiye in February was the first by an Egyptian foreign minister to Ankara in more than a decade.

Cavusoglu and Shoukry will also exchange views on regional and international matters, the statement from Ankara added.

In November, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi were photographed shaking hands during the World Cup in Qatar.

In the wake of the deadly earthquakes last month, Erdogan and Sisi also spoke on the phone.

In another sign of normalisation, Cavusoglu had said in November that Türkiye could re-appoint its ambassador to Cairo "in coming months".

READ MORE: 2022 was ‘a defining moment’ for Turkish diplomacy