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Egypt, Turkey appoint ambassadors after a decade-long rift

July 4, 2023

The rift between the two countries began when Egypt expelled Turkey's ambassador in 2013 after Ankara backed Cairo's ousted Islamist president.

https://p.dw.com/p/4TPQS
Diplomats sat round a table in a meeting of Egyptian and Tirkish foreign ministry officials in 2021
The move is a further step toward restoring full diplomatic tiesImage: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images

Egypt and Turkey upgraded their diplomatic relations on Tuesday, announcing new ambassadors for the first time in a decade.

In a joint statement, Ankara and Cairo said the decision "aims to reestablish normal relations between the two countries, and reflects their joint determination to work on strengthening their bilateral ties, for the interest of the Egyptian and Turkish peoples."

Amr Elhamamy will become Egypt's ambassador in Ankara, while Turkey nominated Salih Mutlu Sen to become its ambassador in Cairo.

"From now on, our relations will continue to improve rapidly in political, economic and all other fields. This is the will of our president (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) and government," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a news conference.

What caused the rift between Egypt and Turkey?

The diplomatic relationship severely deteriorated in July 2013 when then army general Abdel Fattah el-Sissi led the military ouster of elected, Islamist president Mohammed Morsi following mass protests against his divisive one-year rule.

Turkey had supported Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group, which Cairo classifies as a terrorist group. Egypt then expelled the Turkish ambassador and downgraded diplomatic ties to the level of charge d'affaires.

Sissi was elected president a year later and has occupied the post since.

The two countries also supported rival sides in Libya, which neighbors Egypt to the west. A 2020 Turkish deployment of mercenary fighters to Libya to fight along the Tripoli-based government brought both countries to the brink of a proxy war.

Warring parties in Libya agree to ceasefire: Guido Steinberg (SWP) speaks to DW

But the tension thawed in 2021, and talks to mend relations were restarted. Egypt in the same year mended ties with Qatar, another country which had supported Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood.

Meeting in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Sissi and Turkish President Erdogan were seen shaking hands, a sign of nearing resolution.

rmt/jcg (AFP, Reuters)