UPDATE - Turkish, Egyptian foreign ministers to meet in Cairo for talks ahead of Strategic Cooperation Council meeting

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, REVISES DECK

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - The top Turkish and Egyptian diplomats will hold a meeting in Cairo in preparation for the coming Strategic Cooperation Council meeting to be chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

“There will be a ministerial-level meeting in Cairo this year to prepare for the upcoming Strategic Cooperation Council meeting, chaired by the presidents,” Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said at a press conference in Ankara along with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.

Abdelatty further called for the “swift implementation of early recovery projects” in Gaza to provide clean water and medical care, “ensuring that Gaza remains livable.”

"We emphasized the importance of Turkish support for all efforts that will be made in the coming period regarding the reconstruction of Gaza,” he highlighted, adding that Egypt intends to hold an international conference in this regard.

“Egypt intends to host a conference aimed at mobilizing international efforts for the reconstruction of Gaza and ensuring the resilience of the Palestinian people on their land."

Abdelatty said he agreed with his Turkish counterpart “to work together to ensure the full implementation of all terms of the ceasefire agreement.”

“We emphasized the critical importance of ensuring that the Palestinian people remain in Gaza, rejecting any attempts to forcibly uproot this great people from their land, and working towards the fulfillment of their legitimate rights,” he added.

The Egyptian minister hailed the role played by Ankara in supporting the Palestinian cause.

“Türkiye's humanitarian aid to Gaza is highly valued,” he said, calling for implementing a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“Minister Fidan and I firmly rejected any infringement on the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” he added.

Regarding the situation in the occupied West Bank, the two top diplomats called for “an immediate halt to all unilateral actions in the occupied Palestinian territories, including (illegal) settlement activities, military incursions in the West Bank, and violations of the legal and historical status of Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem.”

As for Syria, the Egyptian foreign minister said that Egypt “stands by the Syrian people, and that the stability, security, and unity of Syria are among Egypt's top priorities.”

Regarding the Horn of Africa region, Abdelatty said Egypt “is making efforts to achieve stability and peace in Sudan, and our views (with Türkiye) align on the importance of preserving Somalia’s unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”

The Egyptian minister said that trade exchange with Türkiye reached $8.8 billion in 2024.

“We reaffirmed the necessity of achieving the $15 billion target, as agreed upon by the two presidents during their meeting in Ankara in September,” he added.