President Sisi receives credentials of Turkish ambassador after restoration of diplomatic relations

CAIRO – 17 December 2023: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received on Sunday the credentials of Turkey’s Ambassador to Egypt Salih Mutlu Şen a few months after the two countries agreed to restore their diplomatic relations and elevate them to ambassadorial level.

Early in July, Egypt and Turkey announced appointing ambassadors to each other for the first time in a decade in order to fully restore their diplomatic relations.

As per the mutual decision, Amr El-Hamamy was appointed as Egypt's ambassador to Ankara while Salih Mutlu Sen became Turkey’s ambassador to Cairo.

El-Hamami presented his credentials to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last September.

Egypt and Turkey had held talks in Ankara and Cairo since 2021 to re-establish their relations after a decade of strained ties following the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated President, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013.

The upgrade of diplomatic relations between the two countries comes as per the directives of the Egyptian and Turkish presidents and aims to re-establish normal relations between the two countries, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Moreover, Sisi received the credentials of ambassadors from 19 countries to Cairo besides Turkey, including five Arab countries.

Arab ambassadors are Bahrain’s Ambassador Fawzia bint Abdulla Zainal, Mauritania’s Ambassador Houssein Sidi Abdellah, Qatar’s Ambassador Tariq Ali Faraj Al Ansari, Algeria’s Abdelaziz ben Ali Al-Sharif, and Yemen’s Ambassador Khaled Mahfouz Bahah.

Sisi also received credentials from the ambassadors of Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, Romania, and Latvia in Europe and of Korea, Bangladesh, and Kyrgyzstan in Asia.

Regarding the African continent, Sisi received credentials from the ambassadors of Senegal, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

Furthermore, ambassadors of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, and Mexico presented their credentials to President Sisi.

Sisi welcomed the new ambassadors, wishing them success in their duties, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement. He stressed Egypt’s keenness to enhance bilateral relations with their countries and continue the ongoing consultations on various issues of mutual concern.