AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI
President Mohammed Morsy is traveling to Turkey on Sunday for meetings with his counterparts in Ankara. The two governments will discuss closer economic ties, developments in Syria and promoting the Palestinian cause.
Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali, who made the announcement, also said that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Cairo in the near future.
Economic ties have been strengthened between Turkey and Egypt since 25 January revolution. Turkey recently promised a financial aid package of loans and cash that will total $2 billion for the Egyptian government. There has also been cooperation in the business sector. Last week a delegation from Turkey met with Egypt’s Finance Ministry and agreed on over $8 billion in investment projects.
On the Syrian front, both Egypt and Turkey have supported the rebels and made the removal of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad a central theme to their current foreign policy. Egypt recently proposed a four-state plan to resolve the conflict that would entail the cooperation of Egypt and Turkey, in partnership with Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Morsy will discuss Syria while in Ankara, but the plan has otherwise stalled due to perceived disagreements between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Both Egypt and Turkey have populations that embrace the Palestinian cause. Both Morsy and Erdogan have hosted Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
