Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Wednesday, as the two look to repair recently strained ties and cooperate more closely on energy, defense and the war in Gaza.
The two nations signed a high-level strategic cooperation agreement and Erdoğan said the leaders have a “joint will” to improve ties in a range of areas, including in energy and defense. The countries signed 17 memorandums of understanding.
“We desire to improve our cooperation with Egypt on energy, namely in natural gas and nuclear power,” said Erdoğan during a televised press.
The leaders also discussed the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, with the Egyptian president calling it “an unprecedented crisis.” Both have been highly critical of Israel’s campaign in Gaza and have called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a cease-fire. The presidents may be key actors once fighting stops and the reconstruction of Gaza eventually begins.
Türkiye is keen to import liquefied natural gas from Egypt as part of its plan to be a hub for supplies to Europe. It also wants to restart freight shipping between the Turkish port of Mersin and Alexandria in Egypt. On defense, Türkiye is looking for more buyers for its armed drones and armored cars.