President Erdoğan spoke at a joint press conference with Egyptian President Sisi

 

Holding a joint press conference with Egyptian President Sisi, President Erdoğan said: “We don’t want to see any conflicts, tensions or crises in Africa, the Middle East or elsewhere in our kindred geography. Accordingly, we are determined to step up our talks with Egypt at all levels in order to establish peace and stability in our region.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt held a joint press conference following their meeting at Al-Ittihadyiya Palace in Cairo.

“I am highly pleased to be in Cairo again after 12 years, a long period, in Cairo at the kind invitation of Mr. President. I offer my gratitude to all the Egyptian authorities and our Egyptian brothers and sisters, particular President Sisi, for the hospitality they extended to my delegation and myself,” President Erdoğan said.

“WE HAVE AGREED TO INCREASE OUR TRADE VOLUME TO $15 BILLION IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME”

Stressing that Türkiye and Egypt have a shared and intertwined history and culture dating back more than a thousand years, President Erdoğan stated: “Drawing strength from this deep-rooted heritage, we work to boost the Türkiye-Egypt relations to their rightful level. We see that the Egyptian side has the same strong will as well. We have already elevated the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council to the Presidential level. I have invited my treasured brother to Ankara at his first convenience to hold the council meeting. I believe that this visit will form a new turning point in our relations.”

Singling out trade and economy as the engine of the cooperation between the two countries, President Erdoğan said: “We have agreed in our consultations today to increase our trade volume to $15 billion in a short period of time. We are also determined to boost our current investments worth nearly $3 billion. We have exchanged views on the additional steps to be taken in this direction during our talks. Defense industry is one of the areas harboring great potential. Egypt is making significant investments in the defense sector. I believe we will collaborate with Egypt and develop joint projects. We are also looking for opportunities to expand our cooperation in LNG, nuclear and renewable energy.”

President Erdoğan added: “We will put efforts into further strengthening the existing ties in the areas of culture, tourism and education. The Cairo office of the Yunus Emre Institute ranks first globally in terms of the interest shown for Turkish courses. It is pleasing that 22 thousand Egyptian students registered for Turkish courses last year.”

“THE NETANYAHU ADMINISTRATION BLATANTLY CONTINUES ITS POLICY OF INVASION, DESTRUCTION AND MASSACRE”

Drawing attention to Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza, President Erdoğan said: “The humanitarian tragedy unfolding in the occupied Palestinian lands, particularly in Gaza, tops our agenda. Our over 28 thousand Palestinian brothers and sisters, most of them children and women, have been martyrized and nearly 70 thousand innocent Palestinians wounded in Israel’s attacks. Mosques, churches, hospitals, schools and UN buildings, which are untouchable even in wartime, have been bombarded. The Netanyahu administration blatantly continues its policy of invasion, destruction and massacre despite all the reactions.”

Underlining that it is Türkiye’s top priority to ensure ceasefire as soon as possible and to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza without any impediment, President Erdoğan said: “We have dispatched over 34 thousand tons of humanitarian aid supplies to the region by planes and ships thus far. I hereby would like to highlight the Egyptian authorities’s support in the delivery of aids. I would like to thank the all the relevant institutions of Egypt, including the Red Crescent and the Ministry of Health and Population.”

“WE WILL CONTINUE TO COOPERATE WITH OUR EGYPTIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO PUT AN END TO THE BLOODSHED IN GAZA”

Pointing out that over 700 Palestinians, their guardians included, have been transferred to Türkiye through Egypt for treatment as part of Türkiye’s humanitarian aid efforts, President Erdoğan said: “Our experts have been working to build a field hospital in Gaza. We are confident that our Egyptian brothers and sisters will provide support to make the hospital operational as soon as possible. Attempts to expel the Gazan people from their territories are null and void in our view. The depopulation of Gaza is totally unacceptable. We welcome and support Egypt’s determined stance on this issue. The Netanyahu administration must refrain from expanding its massacres to Rafah, the last shelter of Gazan civilians. The international community, first and foremost the Islamic world and the United Nations, shouldn’t allow such a madness which would result in genocide. We will continue to cooperate and stand in solidarity with our Egyptian brothers and sisters to put an end to the bloodshed in Gaza. We are ready to work with Egypt for the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza in the medium term.”

Noting that the developments in Libya, Sudan and Somalia were also discussed during their meeting, President Erdoğan expressed Türkiye’s full support for the unity, peace and territorial integrity of these three brotherly countries, and added: “We don’t want to see any conflicts, tensions or crises in Africa, the Middle East or elsewhere in our kindred geography. Accordingly, we are determined to step up our talks with Egypt at all levels in order to establish peace and stability in our region.”