Adhraf AboArafe
Heads of state and government and their delegations who attended the G8 Summit praised and celebrated at the Presidential Palace in the New Administrative Capital.
With the G8 Summit, Egypt assumed the rotating presidency of the organization.
The visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Egypt on the occasion of the G8 Summit was very successful.
Holding the G8 Summit in the New Administrative Capital provided an opportunity for consultations between Turkey and Egypt on bilateral and regional issues, including Syria.
Turkey greatly welcomes President Sisi’s support for the G8 project of the late Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, which aims at independent development, industrialization and development through cooperation and pooling of resources among the economies of major Islamic countries, and Egypt is chairing the presidency during this period.
Egypt’s presidency played a decisive role in Azerbaijan’s acceptance of the G8 Summit.
Egypt is the only country that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited twice in 2024.
The changes taking place in the regional and global arenas necessitate deepening consultation and coordination between Egypt and Turkey, and in Turkish foreign policy, Egypt is the most strategically important country in the world.
Egypt is the backbone of regional stability, and Turkey and Egypt will continue to develop cooperation for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen: The evidence and messages of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Egypt should be read very carefully.
Ambassador Salih Mutluşen: Turkey fully supports the security, stability and development of Egypt under the leadership of President Sisi. In this sense, Turkey and Egypt together, side by side, under the leadership of President Sisi and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, are closely aligned and will move forward together into the future.
For 60 years, Syria has been ruled in a manner that contradicts the social reality, people’s feelings and preferences, and by a family regime that thinks about the interests of the regime rather than the welfare of the people. Now, there is a historic opportunity to form an inclusive government that suits the desires, preferences, feelings and structure of the majority of the people in Syria. With the change of this regime in Syria, the region has an opportunity to achieve lasting stability by establishing such a government.
Turks and Arabs can now prioritize stability and development in the region by protecting their affairs and relations and respecting their sovereignty and unity.
In order to evaluate this opportunity well, Arab countries, including Turkey and Egypt, can support this process of transformation and change. This process can be completed and secured by providing support, not by isolating the transitional administration. This came during the assessment made by the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Cairo, Salih Mutlu Şen, about the year 2024 in the context of Turkish-Egyptian relations and regional and global developments.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen stated that historic progress has been made in Turkish-Egyptian relations during the last 2024 years, explaining that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a historic visit to Cairo on February 14, President Sisi paid a historic visit to Ankara on September 4, and finally, on December 19, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a historic visit to Cairo, and visited the New Administrative Capital at a critical time on the occasion of the G8 Summit.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen stated that during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit on February 14, the Turkey-Egypt Strategic Cooperation Council was established, and President Sisi held the first meeting of this council on September 4 with the participation of many ministers.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen stated that 17 agreements were signed at the Council meeting in Ankara, and said that most of these agreements were on trade and economic relations and joint development activities. Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen stated that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited only one country twice in 2024, namely Egypt. He said that this position alone reveals the great importance that Turkey attaches to Egypt.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen stated that when the leaders of countries choose to participate in a summit within the framework of an international organization, this has a meaning in itself. President Erdoğan’s participation in the G8 Summit is also directly related to his close dialogue with President Sisi, and is linked to the importance he attaches to him and his interest in Egypt.
Therefore, he said that participation in the G8 Summit cannot be considered as a mere participation in an international meeting, but rather an important step related to the development of bilateral relations.
He stated that the fact that this visit came after the Syrian crisis provided an opportunity for the two countries to exchange views in depth on regional issues. During the summit, meetings were held between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Sisi, and between Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Foreign Minister Dr. He said that there were special bilateral meetings between Badr Abdel Aati, and the meetings lasted for about an hour, indicating the importance of in-depth consultation and coordination on regional issues and bilateral relations between the two countries.
He pointed out that Turkey cares about Egypt’s views and positions on regional issues, and that it consults with Egypt on every regional issue, and attaches importance to taking Egypt’s position into consideration.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen pointed out that Egypt and Cairo are among the most important diplomatic centers in the world, noting that it may sometimes be difficult for diplomats to follow up on meetings, visits, negotiations, and political and diplomatic developments in Cairo due to this speed and intensity.
In this context, he said that during the G8 summit, many countries had the opportunity to exchange views on Syria in Egypt, taking advantage of these diverse opportunities. Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen said that the significance and message of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Egypt should be read very carefully. In this sense, Turkey fully supports the security, stability and development of Egypt under the leadership of President Sisi, Turkey and Egypt under the leadership of President Sisi and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are united and will walk together into the future.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen stated that the war in Gaza unfortunately continues in 2024, and stated that Turkey, in cooperation with the Egyptian authorities, continued to send humanitarian aid on a large scale until May, that is, until the Israeli attack on the Rafah border crossing. However, Israel closed the crossing, and he said that this aid has largely stopped as a result of the occupation and destruction of the crossing by the Israeli armed forces.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen said that there is no alternative to Egypt’s path regarding humanitarian aid, recovery and reconstruction, so Israel must hand over the crossing to the Palestinians and withdraw from the Rafah border crossing, withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor, and start humanitarian aid and human crossings under Palestinian control on the borders of the Rafah crossing as soon as possible.
He stressed that Turkey fully supports Egypt’s position on both the Rafah border crossing and the Philadelphi corridor. On the other hand, Ambassador Saleh Mutlu Shen pointed out that Egypt is at the forefront and is sincerely making efforts to achieve a ceasefire in cooperation with Qatar in 2024. He said that the Israeli administration, especially Prime Minister Netanyahu, is setting new conditions when negotiations progress in an attempt to continue the war. Because of this, no results have been achieved in the negotiations. However, Egypt and Qatar are continuing their efforts with determination.
He said that Turkey has presented the necessary proposals and recommendations to all parties regarding the ceasefire, and hopes that a ceasefire will be reached as soon as possible.
He said that Israel must completely withdraw from Gaza, not only from the Rafah border crossing and the Philadelphi corridor, but the international community must also immediately collect humanitarian aid and begin recovery, reconstruction and reconstruction activities.
He stated that they are well aware that Israel’s real intention is to make Gaza “uninhabitable” and force the Palestinians to voluntarily emigrate. He pointed out that this is known to the Egyptian authorities. He stated that Turkey, Egypt and the international community should not allow the mass migration of Palestinians by making Gaza “uninhabitable” and not allowing the reconstruction of Gaza.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen stated that Turkey participated in the Gaza Humanitarian Aid Conference organized by Egypt in November with a large delegation and that this Egyptian initiative came at a very appropriate time.
He stated that in order for the preparations for this humanitarian aid, recovery and new construction work to succeed, it is necessary to pressure Israel and all parties to ensure an unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen stated that Turkey mainly sends humanitarian aid to Gaza and Syria, then to Somalia and Sudan. He stated that a large amount of humanitarian aid has been sent to Sudan in the recent period to Port Sudan. He stated that Turkish humanitarian relief organizations and technical assistance organizations have already started their activities in Syria. He stressed that Turkey has hosted nearly 4 million Syrians for 10 years and that its aid to Syria and Syrians has made Turkey one of the leading countries in the world in the field of humanitarian aid. When Syrian refugees return to their country voluntarily and honorably, Turkey will not leave them alone. He pointed out that one million Syrians live in Egypt.
In this context, Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen stated that Turkey and all Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, should help the transitional administration established in Syria and improve the living conditions of our Syrian brothers who will return to their country from Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen continued that all countries in the region should take a constructive approach in the transitional period and towards forming a comprehensive government that includes all segments of the country, including Arabs, Alawites, Kurds, Turkmen, Yazidis, Druze and Christians, regardless of language, religion, race, ethnicity and identity, and the necessity of dealing with the transitional period administration.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen noted that the Syrian people have suffered enough, to the point that they have become poor, displaced from their homes and forced to migrate abroad, and that from now on Syria will not tolerate any new conflict and instability, and therefore everyone should seize the opportunity of this new era.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen also stated that no terrorist organization, including ISIS, YPG, PKK, should find refuge in Syrian territory, should not create terrorism against any country in the region and Syria’s neighbors, and should not in any way cause instability in any other country.
In this context, he also stressed that Syria’s unity, territorial integrity and character as an Arab state are red lines for Turkey.
He pointed out that three-thirds of Syrian territory is occupied by the PKK and YPG separatist elements in the hands of foreign terrorists.
He stated that the PKK and YPG regime, which wants to separate northeastern Syria, is stealing Syria’s only natural resources, natural gas and oil. He said that these foreign terrorists must leave Syria immediately, and other YPG elements must immediately lay down their arms and surrender to the government.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen made statements regarding the year 2025, stating that 2025 will be the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between modern Turkey and modern Egypt. He stated that as an embassy, they plan to carry out religious and academic activities for many cultures on the centenary. At the end of his speech, Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen stressed that Turkey and Egypt, the two brotherly countries, will continue to work side by side and hand in hand on the path of security, peace, stability and development in the coming period.
