Turkish FM to visit Egypt as countries end decade-long split

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Egypt, his ministry announced Friday, the first such high-level trip in more than a decade as the countries repair relations damaged in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring.

A statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Cavusoglu will go to Egypt on Saturday at the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry. The ministers will discuss bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues.

Cavusoglu’s trip follows Shoukry’s visit to Turkey’s earthquake-hit region last month.

Diplomatic relations between Ankara and Cairo have been frosty for almost a decade. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a close ally of Egypt’s previous Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted by the military amid widespread protests in 2013.

Turkey in recent years abandoned its critical approach to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s government, as it tried to repair the frayed ties. In November, Erdogan and el-Sissi were photographed shaking hands during the World Cup in Qatar. [AP]