Egypt, Turkey re-appoint ambassadors for 1st time in 10 years

Upgrading diplomatic relations after ten years of coldness, Egypt and Turkey announced on Tuesday the reappointment of diplomatic envoys to Ankara and Cairo.

Egypt nominated Ambassador Amr al-Hamami to head the delegation to Ankara, while Turkey tasked Ambassador Saleh Mutlu Şin with the role in Cairo.

The appointments mark the latest chapter in a series of steps toward reconciliation — mediated in part by Qatar — between the two countries after they severed ties in 2013 following the military-backed ouster of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi, which Ankara heavily condemned. 

“Raising the level of diplomatic relations aims to restore relations to normal and work in the interests of the two brotherly peoples,” said Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid. On his part, Şin described the step as one that reflects both countries' “common determination to work towards strengthening bilateral relations.”

Cairo and Ankara have rekindled ties at a moment when a common desire to restore trade and exchange has surfaced, with both governments’ economies embroiled in entrenched crises and a common ambition to exploit fossil resources in the East Mediterranean. Ankara “desires to redraw maritime borders with Egypt and join the East Mediterranean Gas Forum,” said several western diplomats who previously spoke to Mada Masr.

Both countries also share security interests, with strong interests in Libya, while Egypt has been keen to extend its reach to opposition figures in Turkey like Journalist Hossam al-Ghamry, who was detained more than once by authorities in Turkey last year after calling for anti-government protests in Egypt.

Turkey and Egypt took their first steps to improve relations in the summer of 2021, with a few missteps and hurdles ultimately overcome through Doha’s mediation.

In November 2022, negotiations progressed far enough to produce a bilateral between President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, pictured in a snapshot of their first ever interaction at the Qatar FIFA World Cup opening ceremony. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu later paid his first visit to Cairo in March to meet with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry.