Senior Egyptian official to visit Turkey for new talks

Cairo: A senior Egyptian official will visit Turkey next week to hold a new round of talks between the two countries in an attempt to defuse years-long tensions.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that in response to a Turkish invitation, Egypt’s Assistant Foreign Minister Hamdi Loza will visit Ankara on September 7-8 to hold a second round of “exploratory” talks between the two countries.

The talks are expected to tackle ties between the two countries and a number of regional issues, the ministry added without details.

In May, senior officials from both countries met in Cairo for their first talks since ties between Egypt and Turkey soured in 2013.

At the time, the two countries said in a joint statement their talks were “frank and in-depth” on bilateral issues as well as a number of regional issues, mainly Libya, Syria and Iraq.

Ties soured between Egypt and Turkey in 2013 when the Egyptian army, following mass street protests, deposed Islamist president Mohammed Mursi, who was an ally of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

In recent months, Ankara has signalled interest in improving links with Egypt and other Arab countries amid efforts to resolve regional crises.