Turkey and Egypt have upgraded their diplomatic relations to ambassadorial level, appointing them for the first time in 10 years, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
“Turkey and Egypt announce that diplomatic relations between the countries have been upgraded to ambassadorial level,” the media cited excerpts from a Foreign Ministry press release.
Salih Mutlu Shen, the country’s former representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, was appointed the new Turkish ambassador to Egypt. The Egyptian side offered to appoint Amr Elhamami as ambassador to Ankara.
“The move is aimed at normalization between the two countries and reflects the mutual desire to develop bilateral relations in accordance with the interests of the peoples of Turkey and Egypt,” the document stressed.
Arab media recall that Turkish and Egyptian presidents Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi agreed to exchange ambassadors in late May. At that time, the office of the Egyptian leader said that in a telephone conversation the two presidents agreed to strengthen relations and cooperation between the two sides and therefore decided to raise the level of relations to ambassadors.
Relations between Ankara and Cairo deteriorated after the military coup in Egypt in July 2013. At that time, Turkey and Egypt recalled their ambassadors. In November 2013, Cairo declared the Turkish ambassador “persona non grata.
