Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelati in Cairo.

“As two powerful actors in the region, we are determined to be in close cooperation,” said the head of Turkish diplomacy, noting that “if we behave in a coordinated and concerted manner, this will add strength to the power of our countries” and that “if we achieve this will contribute to the peace, stability, security and development of the entire region.”

In their joint statements after the meeting, Hakan Fidan said that he discussed with the Egyptian Foreign Minister “also about energy matters of strategic importance” stressing that Ankara considers Egypt a long-term reliable partner in this field. “We also had the opportunity to talk about our capabilities in this area, especially in the field of energy and nuclear energy,” the Turkish minister said.

The two sides agreed to increase the volume of trade between them to 15 billion dollars within the next 5 years.

Hakan Fidan announced that Turkey will formally submit on Wednesday, August 7, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague application to intervene in South Africa’s action against Israel for genocide.

The Turkish foreign minister further asserted that “while the Palestinians have shown a constructive approach to negotiations, Israel has always been the side that ‘spoils the game'” and “not only did it kill the chief negotiator for the ceasefire with an insidious murder.”

He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not wanting peace and wanting to set fire to the entire region. “Israel pursues violence and expansionism,” he said.

At the same time, he argued that “the atrocity in Gaza exposed in all its nakedness the weakness of the international order” and it was achieved mainly against the United States saying that Netanyahu, who is accused of genocide by the International Court of Justice, delivered a speech to the US Congress, which, as the Turkish Foreign Minister said, “claims to be the cradle of democracy”. The position of war criminals cannot be the stage of the parliament, the position of war criminals should only be on the bench of the court, he added.

The two ministers also discussed the developments in Libya with Hakan Fidan stressing that “we are in favor of ensuring the unity and integrity of Libya, we jointly support the security and stability of Libya”.

The head of Turkish diplomacy clarified that “there is absolute agreement between our countries regarding the need to unify state institutions for the organization of presidential and parliamentary elections” in Libya.

In the context of these common goals, it was decided to increase consultations with Egypt, according to Hakan Fidan.

For his part, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelati, pointed out that Cairo attaches particular importance to cooperation with its northern neighbors in the Mediterranean region. “We believe it should be conducted in an appropriate manner to ensure an environment of stability. Our goal is to use our natural resources in a way that everyone can benefit from them,” he said.

Earlier, before his meeting with Badr Abdelati, the Turkish Foreign Minister was received in El Alamein by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with whom he discussed regional and international issues. In the same city he also met with the Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed ‘Amu Gaid.

The Turkish minister made a two-day official visit to Egypt, during which he visited El Aris and the Rafah border gate in the Sinai Peninsula yesterday, Sunday, and met with officials of the Red Crescent, which promotes humanitarian aid to Gaza.