President Hosni Mubarak held talks Wednesday with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, who arrived in Cairo yesterday for a two-day visit.
Talks included efforts to push the peace process in the Middle East forward, cooperation among the two countries in political, economic and investment fields, plus several international and regional cases of joint concern.
Gul attended along with Mubarak the graduation ceremony of a new batch of police officers at the military academy in Heliopolis.
In press releases, Gul denied any form of competition between Turkey and Egypt over roles in the Middle East, saying, “Egypt and Turkey are two key countries that have strong historical relationships and are currently working on developing relations.”
Observers see Egypt as conservative as regards its acceptance of the Turkish role in the region, not wanting to diminish its own role as prominent mediator in the Middle East peace process.
However observers also say that Turkish involvement gives new hope in Middle East issues at a time where Israeli-Arab conflict has reached an impasse.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
