CAIRO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on Wednesday, sealing a raft of new partnership deals and signalling a united front on regional crises in Iran, Sudan and Gaza.
Ministers from both countries signed 18 additional agreements spanning defense, tourism, health and agriculture.
At a joint news conference, El-Sisi said they agreed on the need to implement all phases of the Gaza truce agreement, speed up humanitarian aid deliveries and maintain a focus on “a two-state solution, establishing a Palestinian state.”
Egypt and Turkiye now form half of the mediating bloc for the current Gaza truce, back the Sudanese army in its war with paramilitary forces and share increasingly convergent positions across the region.
On Sudan, El-Sisi said Wednesday both sides want to see a “humanitarian truce that leads to a ceasefire and a comprehensive political path.”
El-Sisi also called for efforts to avoid escalation in the region, advance diplomatic solutions and “avert the spectre of war, whether regarding the Iranian nuclear file or concerning the region in general.”
Erdogan echoed the need for diplomacy, saying foreign interference poses “significant risks to the entire region” and that dialogue remained “the most appropriate method” for addressing disputes with Iran.
Both leaders also underscored support for Somalia’s territorial integrity amid heightened regional friction.
Both countries have backed the government of Somalia and condemned Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Turkiye supplied Egypt with advanced drones in 2024 and the two countries plan to manufacture them jointly.
Erdogan arrived in Cairo after a stop in Riyadh, with his tour coinciding with US-Iran contacts initially planned for Turkiye before Tehran requested a shift to Oman.