• EGYPT
  • November 17, 2012
  • 4 minutes read

Erdogan in Cairo Visit Saturday, November 17

Erdogan in Cairo Visit Saturday, November 17

High-level Turkish sources said that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister, will arrive in Cairo Saturday, at noon, where he will be received by Dr. Hesham Kandil, Egypt’s Prime Minister.

The two leaders are scheduled to hold talks at the Itehadia Presidential Palace, where they will sign a bilateral agreement on economic cooperation to conclude the one-billion-dollar loan deal which Erdogan persuaded the Turkish parliament to approve for Egypt, despite refusal by Turkish opposition parties.

Erdogan is to give a speech at Cairo University, at 4 o’clock in the evening, in which he will address the Muslim world about the historic Turkish relations with Egypt and the whole Arab world. He is also to talk about the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Amina Erdogan, wife of the Turkish Prime Minister, attended the opening of Orman Association for Orphans projects.

Turkish sources said that Erdogan will return to the Itehadia Palace to meet with President Mohamed Morsi. This will be the second meeting between the two leaders. The first was in Istanbul, at the Justice and Development Party conference.

Morsi and Erdogan will announce their stance on the Israeli offensive against Gaza, the means to stop it through international forums and frameworks and applying pressure on Tel Aviv, in addition to bilateral economic and cultural cooperation.

The second day of Erdogan’s visit in Cairo will include opening the Turkey-Egypt Business Forum, Sunday, at nine in the morning, in a Cairo hotel. This will be the second forum to take place in the presence of the Turkish Prime Minister to discuss Turkish investments in Egypt and the removal of barriers experienced before the January 25 revolution.

The forum is sponsored by the Turkish and Egyptian businessmen association headed by Zaki Algindi. A special magazine was printed for this occasion about Turkish investments in Egypt, especially in the fields of textiles, leather, bus industries and auto parts, etc.

The magazine also addresses investment opportunities in the development project for the region to the east of the Suez Canal, in the governorates of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, as well as investment opportunities in the Sinai, and the advantages of industrial investment opportunities in Egypt as a result of international trade agreements Egypt signed with the international community.

On the sidelines of his official visit to Cairo, Erdogan will officially open the Arabic News Service of the Anatolia Agency (AA)’s branch in Egypt, which is the AA’s largest Arabic News Service branch.

He will also inaugurate a photo exhibition hosted by the AA Turkish news agency entitled ‘Arab Awakening’, featuring images taken by AA journalists during the Arab Spring revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya and Syria.

Erdogan will conclude his visit to Egypt with a tour of Saladin Citadel and the Egyptian Museum.

Dr. Pakinam El-Sharkawi, Political Affairs Assistant to President Morsi, is considered one of the most important figures who played a vital role in the development of Turkish-Egyptian relations during her presidency of the Arab-Turkish Forum of Social Sciences and has strong ties with the Justice and Development Party.