President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan traveled to Egypt from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, his second stopover in a regional tour.
Erdoğan, accompanied by a delegation of ministers and businesspeople, was welcomed by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Erdoğan is scheduled to hold a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart later. The president earlier announced that his talks in Egypt would focus on economic cooperation and regional issues, including the rebuilding of Gaza.
The Turkish president is in Cairo at the invitation of el-Sissi to co-chair the second meeting of the Türkiye-Egypt High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.
During the Egypt visit, Erdoğan and el-Sissi are expected to discuss bilateral issues and exchange views on regional and international developments, with particular focus on Palestine.
Erdoğan also plans to attend a Türkiye-Egypt Business Forum during his Cairo visit.
Türkiye and Egypt are working closely to halt Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, secure a lasting cease-fire and create conditions for Gaza’s reconstruction. Erdoğan and el-Sissi signed a declaration of intent at the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit for Peace held in Egypt in October 2025, which was also attended by U.S. President Donald Trump.
As part of efforts to implement the second phase of the cease-fire in Gaza, a Gaza Executive Committee was established, with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan representing Türkiye and Egyptian Intelligence chief Hassan Rashad representing Egypt. Türkiye is a core member of the mediation group alongside Egypt, Qatar and the United States, and is prepared to contribute to an International Stabilization Force in Gaza if requested.
Rising high-level diplomatic engagement has led to a surge in joint projects between Türkiye and Egypt across sectors, including trade, energy, defense, tourism, health care, technology and agriculture.
The trade volume between Türkiye and Egypt, Türkiye's largest trading partner in Africa, reached $8.8 billion (TL 382.87 billion) in 2024. During that period, Türkiye's exports totaled $4.2 billion, while imports stood at $4.6 billion. Erdoğan and el-Sissi have set a joint target of increasing bilateral trade volume to $15 billion by 2028. Relevant ministries are carrying out intensive work to achieve that goal.
Türkiye and Egypt, both of which have long coastlines along the Mediterranean, have significant potential for cooperation in offshore hydrocarbon exploration and production. Military cooperation between the two countries has also gained notable momentum in recent months.
The visit to Türkiye by Egyptian Chief of Staff Ahmed Fathi Khalifa in May 2025 marked the beginning of a new phase in military relations. The uncrewed platforms AKREP and HAMZA-1, developed by Turkish defense company Havelsan, were unveiled for the first time at the EDEX 2025 Egypt Defense Expo.
In addition, the “Türkiye-Egypt Sea of Friendship 2025” naval exercise, held in the Eastern Mediterranean in September 2025 after a 13-year hiatus, stood out as a concrete reflection of growing military cooperation between the two countries.
