On the eve of an upcoming visit from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, to Egypt, an announcement was made by Hakan Fidan, the Turkish Foreign Minister that marked a significant shift in the relationship dynamics between the two nations. Just a week prior to Erdogan’s visit, which incidentally is slated for the 14th of February, Wednesday, Fidan declared that Turkey has plans to sell drones to Egypt, effectively showcasing a 180-degree turnabout in the ties between Ankara and Cairo.
The president’s much-anticipated visit to Cairo is regarded by many as an historical event, and the growing defense cooperation between these two countries may indeed be suggestive of the onset of new and interesting developments in the larger region. The collaboration between these two nations, especially in the field of defense, is perceived as a momentous step forward, carrying the potential to infuse some much-needed new momentum into the prevailing geopolitical landscape of the region.
Transition from a state of rupture to forging an all-out partnership
In the wake of the military coup of 2013, the diplomatic ties between Ankara and Cairo reached a point where they were virtually non-existent. President Erdogan, a vocal critic of the putschists, was extremely aggrieved not solely because they managed to upend his ally and fellow Islamist, late President Mohamed Morsi, and his administration which was led primarily by the Muslim Brotherhood, but also because they curtailed Erdogan’s prospects of reaping certain benefits he had hoped to gain through Egypt’s influential role in the Arab and Muslim world.
Erdogan had been banking upon the supposed benefits that were originally intended to be the result of the influence that Egypt wielded in the Arab World and among the Muslim nations. However, the coup saw the overthrowing of his ally, late President Mohamed Morsi, an event that Erdogan despised due to his affinity for the ousted Islamist leader.
The coup resulted in an almost complete severance of ties between the two nations. It marked a dark period in diplomatic relations, as Erdogan condemned the coup that not only toppled his ally’s government but also encroached on the opportunities he hoped to gain through the influence of Egypt in the Arab region.
