Turkiye and Egypt have appointed ambassadors to restore their relations at the highest diplomatic level.

In a joint statement released by the Turkish foreign ministry on Tuesday, the two governments said Turkiye nominated Salih Mutlu Sen as its ambassador to Cairo and Egypt appointed Amr Elhamamy as its envoy to Ankara.

“This step aims at the renormalization of relations between the two countries and reflects the mutual will to improve bilateral relations in the interests of the Turkish and Egyptian peoples,” the statement said.

Senior foreign ministry officials from the two countries have held talks since 2021, and rapprochement efforts between Turkiye and Egypt took a turn after el-Sisi and Erdogan shook hands at the World Cup in Qatar in late 2022.

The two sides have held talks at the ministerial level multiple times in 2023, have sent each other friendly messages and have been openly negotiating on re-establishing full diplomatic relations.