The Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry will head the Egyptian delegation in the 13th round of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) to be held in Istanbul.
The summit will discuss various pertinent topics, such as the Syrian and Palestinian cases and the efforts to end the conflict in Yemen and Libya, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abou Zeid.
Egypt will put an emphasis on discussion of counter-terrorism efforts in the framework of OIC, Abou Zeid said.
Deputy Foreign Minister Hesham Badr represented Egypt during the preparatory meetings in Turkey between foreign ministers prior to the summit.
Relations between Cairo and Ankara have majorly declined since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood government on 3 July 2013.
The Turkish presidency’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, denounced reports about Saudi Arabia playing the role of mediator in efforts to ease tension between Egypt and Turkey.
When asked whether Egyptian-Turkish relations will be on the agenda of Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud’s visit, Kalin said Turkish policy towards Egypt is well-known and has not changed.
“King’s Salman’s visit to Turkey after his five-day visit to Egypt does not relate to this issue,” said Kalin.
The Saudi King arrived in Turkey on Monday, a couple of days ahead of the OIC summit on 14 April.
