Türkiye, Egypt work together on Gaza peace efforts: Erdoğan
CAIRO
Türkiye and Egypt are working together on efforts for peace in Gaza as well as stability in neighboring Libya, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Feb. 4.
“Türkiye is working with Egypt on initiatives to make peace in Gaza possible and will continue these efforts,” Erdoğan told a joint press conference in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
“Our shared objective with Egypt continues to be the preservation of Libya’s unity and territorial integrity to establish lasting stability in the country,” he added.
Noting that Egypt is already Türkiye's largest trade partner in Africa, Erdoğan said Ankara aims to boost the bilateral trade volume from $8-9 billion to $15 billion.
“Türkiye wants to enhance its cooperation with Egypt in the fields of maritime trade and transportation, freedom of navigation, and maritime security,” he said.
He also noted that Türkiye rejects Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, citing the need to protect Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
On the situation in Egypt’s southern neighbor Sudan, Erdoğan said that Ankara wants a ceasefire in Sudan, then sustainable peace in the country.
On rising tensions between Washington and Tehran, Erdoğan said: “Resolving issues with Iran, including the nuclear issue, through diplomatic means is the most appropriate method."
On Syria, the president underlined that Türkiye supports Syria's major transformation, as the region will benefit greatly from Syria's territorial integrity and political unity.
Erdoğan also stressed that despite a months-long ceasefire, the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza is still continuing.
He praised Cairo’s efforts to get humanitarian aid sent by Türkiye into the hands of Palestinians in Gaza.
President Sisi said Egypt is determined to strengthen “constructive” cooperation with Türkiye.
He said they stressed “the need to continue developing and enhancing constructive cooperation” between Cairo and Ankara “to reach sustainable political solutions that address the root causes of the crises” in the region.
“We also affirmed the necessity of working to raise the volume of trade exchange to $15 billion and removing any obstacles that may hinder achieving this goal,” he added.
The Egyptian leader called for closer coordination and deeper cooperation among regional countries to ensure security and stability in the region.
Various deals signed
During Erdoğan's visit to Cairo, numerous agreements in different fields were signed by related institutions and ministries of the two countries.
Among them were a military framework agreement, a memorandum of understanding in the field of plant quarantine, and a memorandum of understanding in the field of veterinary services.
They also included a joint ministerial declaration between the Turkish Trade Ministry and Egypt's Foreign Trade Ministry, a pact on cooperation in the field of social protection between the Turkish Family and Social Services Ministry and Egypt's Social Solidarity Ministry, and a pact on cooperation in the field of youth and sports between Turkish Youth and Sports Ministry and Egypt's Youth and Sports Ministry were.
A pact on cooperation in the field of pharmaceutical and medical device regulation between the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency and the Egyptian Drug Authority was also signed.