Sisi, Erdogan stress need to strengthen bilateral cooperation Cairo, Ankara

CAIRO – 19 December 2024: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the 11th summit of the Developing Eight Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8) held in Cairo on Thursday.

The official spokesman for the Presidency stated that the two presidents stressed the need to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries in all fields, in line with the interests of the two countries and their peoples, as ways to develop bilateral relations were reviewed, especially in the economic, trade and investment fields.

Ambassador Mohamed El-Shenawy, the official spokesman, added that the meeting addressed developments in the Middle East region, where the need to intensify coordination and consultation between the two countries regarding crises in the region was emphasized to ensure peace and stability.

 In this context, the Egyptian efforts were reviewed to reach an agreement to cease fire in the Gaza Strip, release hostages, and provide humanitarian aid to the people of the Strip without restrictions or obstacles.

The Turkish President expressed his appreciation for the Egyptian efforts, stressing his agreement with the President that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, is the basic guarantee for restoring peace and stability in the region.

The official spokesman explained that the meeting also discussed the situation in Syria, where President Sisi stressed the need to preserve the unity, independence and territorial integrity of Syria, and to launch a Syrian political process that includes all segments of society and its forces to achieve national reconciliation and ensure the success of the transitional process.

The meeting also discussed the situation in the countries of the region, especially in Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Syria, where the importance of protecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of those countries was emphasized, in order to achieve security and peace for their peoples.

The two sides also confirmed their condemnation of the Israeli violations of Syrian lands, stressing the need to immediately stop these violations.