The Turkish Defense Ministry has expressed its expectation for the growth of military and defense relations with Egypt in the coming period, emphasizing that the visit of General Osama Askar, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, to Ankara represents a new era in the development of relations between the two countries.
TRT Haber, citing Turkish Defense Ministry media advisor Zafer Aktok, reported that “Egyptian Chief of Staff Askar met with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Chief of General Staff Metin Gürak.”
Aktok noted that the Egyptian Chief of Staff also visited some Turkish defense industry companies on the sidelines of his visit to Ankara.
He added, “We expect relations between the two countries to grow in the coming period.” Earlier in the day, Egyptian military spokesman Ghrib Abdel Hafiz had announced that the two sides had affirmed their aspirations to strengthen military cooperation between the two countries during the talks.
He added that the two sides discussed military cooperation, regional and international crises “affecting the national security of both countries, and the convergence of visions and views towards them.”
He explained that the Egyptian Chief of Staff conducted an inspection tour that included a number of companies, including Baykar, the manufacturer of Bayraktar drones, and also visited the headquarters of the Turkish army’s special forces.
It is noteworthy that last February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Egypt for the first time since his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took office, where Sisi welcomed the Turkish president to open a new page in relations between the two countries.
Relations between Egypt and Turkey began to improve since the handshake between Erdogan and Sisi during the opening of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, then they met again during the G20 summit in New Delhi last September, and the two sides agreed to strengthen relations and cooperation, raise the level of diplomatic relations, and exchange ambassadors.
Following Erdogan’s visit to Cairo, arrangements are currently underway for a planned visit by Sisi to Ankara.
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