Egypt, Turkey hold political consultations ahead of first Joint Planning Group meeting - Foreign Affairs

Al-Ahram Weekly

4 days ago

Senior Egyptian and Turkish officials have held political consultations in Cairo ahead of the inaugural meeting of a joint planning group aimed at coordinating bilateral cooperation and regional policy between the two countries.
The talks, held at Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the New Administrative Capital, were led by Wael Hamed, Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs, and Burhanettin Duran, Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister.
The joint planning group, to be chaired by the foreign ministers of both countries, will oversee cooperation in a wide range of areas and act as a platform for exchanging views on regional and international developments.
Egypt's foreign ministry said in a Tuesday statement that the talks reflected a shared interest in strengthening relations and expanding collaboration in fields including trade, investment, energy, transport, and civil aviation.
Officials discussed plans to increase bilateral trade to $15 billion over the next five years, up from around $9 billion, and to attract more Turkish investment to Egypt, particularly in the textiles and home appliances sectors. The talks also covered incentives available in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and the formation of a task force under Egypt's cabinet to support Turkish investors.
Other topics included regulating the Egyptian labour movement to Turkey and finalizing several draft agreements currently under negotiation.
On regional issues, the delegations exchanged views on the Middle East, including Iran's nuclear programme and the war in Ukraine. Egypt outlined its role in ceasefire efforts in Gaza and plans for reconstruction while briefing the Turkish side on its positions regarding Libya, the Sahel, Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and Red Sea security.
The Turkish delegation was reported to have welcomed Egypt's regional role, particularly its contribution to stability in key conflict zones.
Both sides agreed to maintain momentum in bilateral ties by continuing high-level visits and following up on the implementation of agreements discussed during the consultations.
Warming ties
The consultations follow Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty's visit to Istanbul earlier this month. There, he met with Turkish business leaders on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation ministerial meeting.
Relations between Cairo and Ankara have improved markedly after a decade of tension. In September 2024, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan co-chaired the inaugural session of the High-level Strategic Cooperation Council in Ankara — a body created during Erdoğan's visit to Cairo earlier that year.
In a joint declaration following that meeting, both presidents instructed the joint planning group to begin work on expanding cooperation across political, economic, and security fields.
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