Egypt to send delegation to Turkey for talks on repairing ties

Egypt’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hamdi Loza will pay a two-day visit to Turkey next week to hold a second round of exploratory talks between the two regional rivals.

Loza will arrive in Turkey on Sept. 7 after accepting an invitation from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the Egyptian government said.

Talks are “expected to tackle the bilateral relations between the two sides, as well as a number of regional files,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal will head the Turkish delegation during the talks, according to a statement issued by the ministry on Tuesday.

Relations between Turkey and Egypt have been fractured since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power in a July 2013 military coup and launched a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, which Turkey’s government backs politically.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had forged close ties with ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, opposed the military takeover and has frequently denounced el-Sisi as a dictator. Turkey has since become a safe haven for Egyptian exiles opposed to the government in Cairo.

Turkey in March announced that it had resumed diplomatic contacts with Egypt and sought further cooperation. Önal held talks with Loza in Cairo in May, the first high-level meeting between the two countries since 2013.