Egypt's Sisi in Turkey on first official visit in 12 years as relations thaw

ANKARA: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived in Ankara on Wednesday for talks with Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, the first such presidential visit in 12 years, amid a warming of long-frozen relations between the regional powers.

Erdogan had travelled to Cairo in February, his first trip to Egypt since 2012, taking a major step toward rebuilding ties that were severely strained for a decade.

Relations between Ankara and Cairo collapsed in 2013 after Egypt's then-army chief Sisi led the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi, a Turkish ally who had become Egypt's first democratically elected president the year before. Mursi visited Turkey as president in 2012.

"Turkey-Egypt relations will be reviewed in all their aspects, and possible joint steps in the coming period to further develop cooperation will be discussed," the Turkish presidency's communications office said late on Tuesday.

"There will be an exchange of views on current regional and global issues, especially the Israeli attacks on Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories".

Erdogan met Sisi at Ankara airport before they left together in Erdogan's motorcade for the presidential palace for a welcome ceremony. They will also chair the first meeting of the Turkey-Egypt High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

A joint press conference is scheduled for 5pm (1400 GMT).

In a statement, Sisi said his visit - and that of Erdogan in February - showed Ankara and Cairo's common will to launch a new phase of friendship and cooperation.

Ties between the two countries began thawing in 2020 when Ankara launched a diplomatic charm offensive to ease tensions with its estranged regional rivals, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Turkey and Egypt mutually reappointed ambassadors last year, and Ankara has said it would provide Cairo with armed drones. Erdogan said in Cairo that the countries wanted to boost annual trade by $5 billion to $15 billion in the short term.

Turkey's state-owned Anadolu news agency said the two countries would sign around 20 agreements during Sisi's visit to cooperate on energy, defence, tourism, health, culture and education. It said deepening cooperation on renewable energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG) was also planned.

Turkey, which has condemned Israel for its war against Hamas, has sent thousands of tonnes of aid to Egypt for Palestinians and praised Cairo's humanitarian efforts and role as negotiator in Gaza truce talks.