Egypt and Turkey conduct first high-level military meeting in Ankara
The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that Chief of Staff Metin Gurak received his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Fathi Ibrahim Khalifa, with a military ceremony on Thursday, where they then held a closed meeting.
Following the closed meeting, the first high-level military dialogue meeting between Turkey and Egypt, planned to be held annually between the chiefs of staff of both countries, was held at the Turkish General Staff headquarters.
According to Turkish sources, the meeting addressed military cooperation relations and cooperation between Egypt and Turkey in the fields of training and defense industries.
Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler later received the Egyptian Chief of Staff and his accompanying delegation, the Pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
The first visit by a high-ranking Egyptian military official to Turkey since 2013 was by former Egyptian Chief of Staff Osama Askar, who was later appointed advisor to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Relations between the two countries had been strained in 2013 following the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt, but both countries have fully normalized relations almost a decade after.
Askar's visit to Ankara preceded Sisi's visit to Turkey on September 4, 2024, which witnessed the first meeting of the Strategic Council for Relations between the two countries.
The Council was revived during Erdogan's visit to Cairo on February 14 of the same year, which was his first visit to Egypt after 12 years.
During the visit, both sides affirmed their desire to increase military cooperation in many areas during the coming period, including cooperation in the defense industries and joint production.
Defense Cooperation and Training
Askar conducted an inspection tour of several defense industry companies in Ankara and Istanbul, including Baykar.
He viewed several combat drones of various models, including Hürjet, an advanced training and light attack aircraft developed by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ), the KIZILELMA drone, designed for air combat purposes and produced by Baykar, in addition to Bayraktar TB2 drone and T129 helicopter, developed by TUSAŞ in cooperation with the Italian company AgustaWestland.
The Turkish Defense Ministry announced early May that Turkish and Egyptian Special Forces conducted joint training exercises in the capital, Ankara, from April 21-29.
The ministry said in a statement on its Twitter account: 'The training included combat in populated neighborhoods, sniper training, medical training, parachute jumping, helicopter assault and landing exercises, rope landings, medical evacuation, special reconnaissance operations, and specific missions.'
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