Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will next week embark on his first visit to Egypt since the two countries resumed diplomatic relations in 2021 after years of tension. Turkey also claims to have received an order for military drones. Our staff comments that the summit could improve trade, FDI and perhaps even bring about peace in Libya.
The official visit was confirmed by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday.
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Turkish leader will arrive in Cairo on February 14 to discuss bilateral and regional issues with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, including trade, energy and security, Mr Fidan said.
As well as announcing the visit, Mr Fidan also said Turkey has agreed to provide Egypt with drones, the first known arms deal between Cairo and Ankara since the governments agreed in July to upgrade their diplomatic relations to ambassadorial level after two years of on-and-off talks to resume ties.
“Normalization in our relations is important for Egypt to have certain technologies,” Mr Fidan said. “We have an agreement to provide [Egypt] unmanned air vehicles and other technologies.”
Turkey has agreed to provide combat drones and other technologies to Egypt as part of the countries’ efforts to normalize ties after a decade of strained relations, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced.
The agreement comes ahead of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s scheduled visit to Egypt on 14 February, which will be his first since the upgrade in diplomatic relations between the two nations.
Turkey’s drones have gained international attention and demand due to their use and effectiveness in conflicts in countries such as Libya, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine, commented Egyptian Streets.
Commentary: Visit could improve trade, FDI and perhaps even bring about peace in Libya
Thus, Erdogan completes another 180 degree turn in foreign policy which witnessed him denouncing Suadi Arabian heir to throne Mohammed bin Salman as the murderer of Egyptian journalist Khashoggi in Istanbul, and UAE air force allegedly bombing Turkish military staff and proxies in Libya.
While trade between Turkey and Egypt had not materially suffered because of poor relations, Turkish companies are likely to increase their M&A and FDI in Egypt, assuming the unofficial sanctions on them imposed by Cairo are lifted after this visit.
More speculatively, the much anticipated sukuk purchase and loan to ExIm Bank of Turkey may be linked to Erdogan’s reluctance to visit al Sisi.
It remains to be seen whether Erdogan and Sisi can work out their differences re Libya, which would contribute significantly to peace in the war torn country and may land Turkish construction companies some re-building tenders.
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