Türkiye will provide Egypt with Bayraktar drones
Türkiye has agreed to deliver combat drones to Egypt, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit soon, indicating the completion of reconciliation between the two countries, according to what the Turkish Foreign Minister announced on Sunday.
Hakan Fidan confirmed in a television interview that the normalization process has largely been completed.
“Relations between the two countries are important for security and trade in the region,” Fidan said.
He added, “We agreed to provide them with drones,” stressing that “we must have serious relations with Egypt for the sake of security in the Mediterranean.”
On February 14, the Turkish president is expected to visit his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al Sisi, whom Erdogan described as a coup, that is, after twelve years of estrangement between the two leaders.
Erdogan’s last visit to Cairo dates back to November 2012, when he was prime minister, to meet with the then president, Mohamed Morsi.
The two countries recalled their ambassadors after Abdel Fattah al Sisi took power in 2013 following the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, of whom Ankara was one of his most prominent supporters.
However, the two presidents resumed communication in recent months, as they shook hands in November 2022 on the sidelines of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
In February 2023, Erdogan and Sisi communicated by phone shortly after a devastating earthquake struck Türkiye and Syria, killing tens of thousands.
In July 2023, the two countries announced the restoration of diplomatic relations between them to the ambassadorial level.
