Intelligence chiefs and foreign ministers of both countries have been in contact, and a Turkish diplomatic mission will visit Egypt in early May, Kalın told Reuters in an interview. Kalın declared that the situation in Libya and the Turkish military presence would be discussed in upcoming talks with the Egyptian officials in Cairo.
“Rapprochement with Egypt...will certainly help the security situation in Libya because we fully understand that Egypt has a long border with Libya and that may sometimes pose a security threat for Egypt,” Kalin said.
Given the realities on the ground, I think it’s in the interests of both countries and the region to normalise relations with Egypt,” he said.
Egypt has shown interest in Turkish maritime offers in the Mediterranean Sea recently. The Egyptian prime minister has also visited Libya interim government that receives Turkey’s strong support.
Since last year, trade between the two countries has dropped by 98%, following an unofficial boycott of Turkish goods by businesses in the Kingdom in response to what they called hostility from Ankara.
Kalin, who expressed his hope that the boycott could be lifted, said: “We will seek ways to repair the relationship with a more positive agenda with Saudi Arabia as well.”
Kalin also said the Turkish presidency welcomed the trial in Saudi Arabia, which last year jailed eight people for between seven and 20 years for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi journalist was murdered in Istanbul at the Saudi consulate.
