President El-Sisi’s Speech at Joint Press Conference with President of Türkiye Erdoğan

“In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful”

Your Excellency, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,

President of the Republic of Türkiye

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me at the outset to welcome His Excellency, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Türkiye, and his accompanying delegation, on his first visit to Egypt in more than ten years, to open together a new chapter between our countries; one that shall enrich our bilateral relations and put them back on the right trajectory. I would like to underscore our pride in and appreciation for the profound historical relations as well as cultural and civilizational heritage we share with Türkiye.

It is worth noting that over the past decade, our peoples have maintained consistent engagement, while trade and investment relations sustained steady growth during the same period. Currently, Egypt is Türkiye’s largest trading partner in Africa, while Türkiye is one of the major destinations for Egyptian exports. Experience stands as a testament to the immense value of collaboration between our business sectors. With a shared vision, we will embark on a collaborative path to boost trade to 15 billion dollars over the coming few years, reinforce joint investments, and unlock new prospects of cooperation.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are committed to strengthening joint coordination and leveraging the two countries’ strategic positions as regional powers, to promote peace, solidify stability and foster a conducive environment for prosperity and growth, united by the common challenges we face as a result of regional turmoil, including terrorism and economic and social hardships.

We deeply appreciate the cooperative efforts by Egypt and Türkiye to ensure prompt delivery of substantial amounts of much-needed humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza. This cooperation holds significant importance, given the rigorous restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on aid access, resulting in the slow entry of aid trucks, which are insufficient to adequately meet the needs of the population in the sector.

During our talks, His Excellency President Erdoğan and I shared common views on the imperative need to reach a ceasefire in the Strip with utmost urgency and restore calm in the West Bank, so as to pave the way for the resumption of the peace process at the earliest opportunity, leading to the declaration of a sovereign Palestinian State, along the June 4, 1967, border with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy.

Our discussions highlighted the critical importance of strengthening consultations between our countries regarding the Libyan dossier, with the objective of facilitating the convening of presidential and legislative elections and unifying the country’s military institution. We believe that our success in reinforcing security and political stability in Libya can be emulated to address other challenges, as the countries of the region are the most capable of understanding their complexities and the ways to settle their ongoing conflicts.

I would also like to welcome the current period of calm in the Eastern Mediterranean and hope we can build upon it to reach lasting solutions to the outstanding disputes between riparian countries in the region. This shall enable us to cooperate in order to leverage the untapped natural resources available there.

During our meeting, President Erdoğan and I also stressed our shared interest in cooperating in Africa and in working together to bolster development efforts and realize stability and prosperity across the continent.

In conclusion, I look forward to fulfilling President Erdoğan’s invitation to visit Türkiye next April to pursue our efforts toward promoting Egyptian-Turkish relations across an array of fields, to be commensurate with the two countries’ history and shared cultural legacy.