Ankara's decision to appoint an ambassador to Cairo comes after several rounds of diplomatic engagement to repair the fractured relationship. Turkey and Egypt withdrew their ambassadors in 2013 when relations broke down after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power in a military coup and launched a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.
Turkey has decided to appoint a new ambassador to Cairo to fill the vacant diplomatic post for nearly nine years. The officials said the new ambassador would be Salih Mutlu Şen, Turkey"s former representative to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) between 2015-and 2020.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was also a vocal critic of Sisi"s post-coup crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood leaders and members. The gap between the two countries widened even further, with Egypt and Turkey siding with opposing sides in the Libyan conflict. The Turkish government lifted a veto against Egypt"s NATO partnership activities last year and stopped broadcasting political programming by Egyptian opposition TV channels based in Istanbul to repair the relationship.
Last year, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar stated that Turkey would like to restart relations with Egypt. Two countries held two rounds of talks aimed at improving the relationship.
At the time, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said a vital issue for Cairo was Ankara"s involvement in Libya, a country that has faced a nearly decade-long conflict following the ousting of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising.
The recent push by the two countries to mend relations is part of a broader realignment in the region since US President Joe Biden"s election.
