Brussels - Ankara - Cairo: Europe and Arabs - Agencies
The media in Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, focused on the historic visit made by the Egyptian President to Ankara on Wednesday. Newspapers and news websites quoted the Belgian News Agency as saying that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Ankara to end a decade of dispute between the two countries.
It pointed out that Erdogan had previously visited Cairo last February, and now it was Erdogan's turn to receive al-Sisi and extend his hand welcoming him when he got off the plane, according to the photos published by the Turkish presidency. The two men signed a series of agreements, and the Belgian News Agency indicated that in February, al-Sisi and Erdogan started a new page in relations after a difficult period following al-Sisi's rise to power in 2013. Following the overthrow of the regime of Mohamed Morsi, who is from the Muslim Brotherhood and was a supporter of Turkey. At the time, Erdogan swore that he "would not" talk to "someone like" al-Sisi.
The Turkish president then described his colleague as a "murderer" and undemocratic, but relations between the two men, who support rival governments in Libya, have thawed in recent years. Their interests have united on various regional issues, including the war in the Gaza Strip.
Sisi and Erdogan expressed in February a desire to increase their trade "to $15 billion annually within a few years." Some see Egypt and Turkey as important trading partners, and the two also want to strengthen their diplomatic cooperation in Africa and the Middle East.
Historic visit
After years of disagreements, media war and differing positions on many issues, it only ended with an initiative by the Turkish president when he visited Cairo earlier. The visit, which was described as historic, came and a tweet published by Recep Tayyip Erdogan's account on the 'X' platform read: 'I was pleased to host Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in our country. We are determined to strengthen our communication and consultations with Egypt, with which we have similar positions and goals on many issues.' Erdogan added: “We agreed in our meetings (Wednesday) to build continuous consultations to resolve regional issues, especially the Gaza issue. Turkey and Egypt have a common position on the Palestinian issue.

He continued: “Ending the genocide that has been going on for 11 months, achieving a permanent ceasefire as soon as possible, and ensuring the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid are still our priorities.”
The Turkish president added: “32% of the total aid provided to the Gaza Strip so far has come from Turkey.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan explained: “Egypt is participating with Qatar and the United States in the ongoing negotiations between the parties. We, in turn, support this stage through our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our intelligence agency. We are also continuing to work intensively to ensure that Israeli officials who committed crimes in Gaza are held accountable before international courts.”
Erdogan added: “In addition to the Gaza issue, we discussed a number of regional issues in our meetings, especially the Eastern Mediterranean, Syria, Libya, Sudan, and the Horn of Africa.”
He added: “During our meeting with Mr. Sisi in Cairo, we made a decision to restructure the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. We held the first meeting of this council. We confirmed through our joint declaration our will to enhance our cooperation in all fields, including industry, trade, defense, health, environment and energy.” The Turkish President said: “We continue to rank among Egypt’s top 5 trading partners in the last ten years. We are moving with determination and resolve towards our goal of increasing the volume of trade exchange to $15 billion over the next five years. We want to develop our cooperation with Egypt in the field of energy, especially natural gas and nuclear energy. We hope to God Almighty that we will cooperate more closely from now on.” President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seek to raise the volume of trade exchange between the two countries to $15 billion annually and enhance mutual investments between the two countries. According to media reports, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that the crises and severe challenges that our region and world are experiencing today confirm the importance of coordination and cooperation between Egypt and Turkey.

Sisi added, during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara: From this standpoint, I discussed with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan ways of coordination and working together to address regional crises, most notably addressing the humanitarian tragedy that our Palestinian brothers are facing in Gaza, in an unprecedented disaster that has been going on for nearly a year.

President El-Sisi continued: In this regard, I am interested in highlighting the unity of the positions of Egypt and Turkey regarding the demand for an immediate ceasefire, rejecting the current Israeli escalation in the West Bank, and calling for starting a path that achieves the aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the relevant international legitimate resolutions, in addition to our ongoing cooperation since the beginning of the crisis to deliver aid to Gaza despite the obstacles imposed by Israel.

President Sisi visited Turkey on Wednesday for the first time, in response to an invitation from the Turkish president, who visited Cairo last February. The two presidents witnessed the signing of a number of agreements between the two countries in many fields.