April 15,2021: A Turkish delegation will visit Egypt next month as part of Ankara’s efforts to mend ties with Cairo after the two countries snapped diplomatic relations in 2013, the foreign minister said on Thursday.
“Egypt invited a delegation from Turkey. The delegation will go in early May,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the private NTV broadcaster.
“We will discuss openly how to normalise relations.”
Cavusoglu on Thursday said the first delegation talks would be at the level of deputy foreign ministers, before a meeting between the ministers.
“I hope we will all together further improve relations,” he said.
Thaw in relations
Ankara and Cairo froze ties after the 2013 overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi, who forged close ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
That year, both countries expelled each others’ ambassadors and Cairo had then declared the Turkish envoy “persona non grata”.
But Turkish officials last month said Ankara had established the first diplomatic contacts with Cairo since 2013 as part of wider efforts to repair relations with other Middle Eastern rivals.
Cavusoglu’s announcement comes a day after he said a new period was beginning in Turkey-Egypt ties.
