Egypt, Turkey reappoint ambassadors: Egypt and Turkey yesterday restored diplomatic ties and announced the appointment of ambassadors for the first time in 10 years, marking a significant thawing of tensions triggered by the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Who’s who: Cairo has nominated Amr Elhamamy to serve as its ambassador in Ankara, while Turkey has appointed SalihMutluŞen as its ambassador to Cairo, the countries said in a joint statement.

What they said: “This step aims to establish normal relations between the two countries once again and demonstrates their mutual determination to work towards enhancing their bilateral relations for the best interest of both the Turkish and Egyptian peoples,” the statement said.

This had been in the cards for a few weeks: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to fully normalize ties immediately following Erdogan’s reelection in May.

Several high-level meetings and one presidential handshake later: The two countries have been inching closer to restoring ties for months, with El Sisi and Erdogan shaking hands in a brief encounter during the 2022 World Cup and Turkish companies pledging to invest USD 500 mn in Egypt only three months later. The chief diplomats of the two countries in March pledged to put aside their differences and normalize relations in a meeting in Cairo, three weeks after Shoukry traveled to Turkey to show support following the earthquakes that hit the south of the country and Syria.

An inaugural El Sisi-Erdogan summit next? Officials from the two sides have said publicly that they’re preparing a first meeting between El Sisi and Erdogan, though a date is yet to be announced.

The move comes amid a broader push for reconciliation in the region: We normalized relations with Qatar back in 2021 and are currently looking to improve relations with Iran. Qatar and the UAE arerestoring diplomatic relations, Syria has been welcomed back into the Arab League, and Saudi Arabia and Iran are working to end years of hostilities.

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