Turkish President to host Egyptian President Sisi in landmark visit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will welcome his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in Ankara on Wednesday, marking a historic visit aimed at cementing the reconciliation between the two countries, the Turkish presidency announced on Tuesday.

This visit comes "in response" to Erdogan's trip to Egypt in mid-February, the presidency said in a statement. The two leaders had agreed to open a "new chapter" in relations between Ankara and Cairo, which had been abruptly severed following Sisi's rise to power in 2013.

The rupture occurred after Sisi, then head of the Egyptian military, ousted Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a close ally of Turkey. At the time, President Erdogan vowed never to speak to "someone like" Sisi.

However, the relationship between the two leaders has warmed significantly over the past two years, with their interests increasingly converging on several regional issues, including the conflict in Gaza.

In mid-February, during Erdogan's visit to Cairo, the two presidents signed several agreements and called for an intensification of trade and diplomatic cooperation in the Middle East and Africa.

Despite the decade-long political rift, trade between Turkey and Egypt never ceased. Ankara remains Egypt's fifth-largest trading partner, while Cairo is Turkey's leading economic partner in Africa.

This upcoming visit to Ankara represents a significant step toward solidifying the renewed ties between Turkey and Egypt, reflecting a shift towards collaboration and mutual interests in a rapidly evolving regional landscape.