Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi (R) meets with visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 4, 2026. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, held talks on Wednesday in Cairo, aiming to strengthen ties and coordinate on key regional issues, particularly on Gaza. (Egyptian Presidency/Handout via Xinhua)
CAIRO, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, held talks on Wednesday in Cairo, aiming to strengthen ties and coordinate on key regional issues, particularly on Gaza.
Following their meeting, the two leaders co-chaired the second meeting of the Egypt-Türkiye High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, witnessing the signing of several cooperation agreements in defense, investment, trade, energy, and tourism, according to the Egyptian presidency.
The leaders set a goal to increase bilateral trade from nearly 9 billion U.S. dollars to 15 billion dollars by 2028.
On the Gaza Strip, Egypt and Türkiye reaffirmed their support for the ceasefire plan, stressing the urgent need for a full Israeli withdrawal, sustained humanitarian access, the reopening of the Rafah crossing in both directions, and a comprehensive reconstruction process.
They also reiterated the necessity of launching a political process for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The discussions also covered developments in Sudan, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, and the Horn of Africa, with both sides advocating for political solutions and respect for sovereignty, as well as underlining the importance of securing the Red Sea maritime navigation and rejecting "any attempts to pursue military presence on its shores in contradiction to international law." ■