Turkey and Egypt proceeded with the signing of two letters of intent regarding military and defence cooperation.

According to announcements by the defence ministries of the two countries and statements by Turkish officials, the cooperation falls within the framework of the gradual deepening of bilateral relations following their normalisation.

The visit of the Egyptian defence minister to Ankara marked the establishment of new cooperation mechanisms between the two countries, focusing both on the armed forces and on collaboration in the defence sector.

Turkish Minister of National Defence Yaşar Güler and Egyptian Defence Minister Lieutenant General Ashraf Salem Zaher signed a letter of intent on military cooperation during the official visit of the Egyptian official to Ankara.

At the same time, talks were held between senior military delegations from the two countries, focusing, according to an Egyptian statement, on expanding cooperation between the armed forces in various fields.

Particular importance is being placed on strengthening cooperation in the defence industry sector.

As part of the visit, Ashraf Salem Zaher met with the president of Turkey’s Defence Industry Agency, Haluk Görgün. The two sides signed a second letter of intent, which provides for the creation of a cooperation framework for the development of defence capabilities and collaboration in the defence industry sector.

The strengthening of military ties follows the Military Cooperation Framework Agreement signed during Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Egypt in February.