“The visit launches a deep-level dialogue on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of concern to both countries with the aim of reaching a mutual understanding that achieves the interests of the two brotherly states and peoples,” Abu Zeid added.

Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry will meet with FM Cavusoglu at the headquarters of the ministry in downtown Cairo, Abu Zeid explained.

The meeting will be followed by an expanded meeting that will include the two foreign ministers and delegations.

Afterward, FMs Shoukry and Cavusoglu will hold a press conference, Abu Zeid added.

Earlier on Friday, a statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that FM Cavusoglu will travel to Egypt on Saturday at the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart, in the first such high-level trip in more than a decade as Cairo and Ankara repair relations.

The ministers will discuss bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues, the Turkish foreign ministry said.

Cavusoglu’s trip follows Shoukry’s recent visit to Turkey’s earthquake-hit region last month.

Egypt has provided aid to Turkey following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit both Turkey and Syria on 6 February causing over 50,000 casualties.

On the day of the tragedy, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi expessed in phone call to his Turkish counterpart Erdogan his condolences for the victims of the devastating earthquake.

Egypt-Turkey: Thawing in relations

In recent months, relations between Egypt and Turkey have been thawing at the state level following a decade long rupture.

In November, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement that Turkish President Erdoğan and President El-Sisi agreed during a brief encounter in Qatar during World Cup to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries and affirmed the deep historical relations binding the two countries and their peoples.

In media remarks made a few days after their encounter in Qatar, Erdoğan said he told President El-Sisi that he is keen to end the nine-year rupture between Turkey and Egypt and to avoid a problem between the two countries in the Mediterranean.

In mid February, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met in Cairo with a delegation of 14 representatives of Turkish companies, which are operating in Egypt or planning to start new investments in the country, to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Turkish president added that the process of building Egyptian-Turkish relations would start with ministerial-level talks, to be followed by a meeting with President El-Sisi.

In November, FM Cavusoglu indicated that his country may re-appoint an ambassador to Egypt in the upcoming months.

Uninterrupted economic relations

Despite frosty diplomatic exchanges, business never stopped between the two countries never stopped. In 2022, Turkey was the largest importer of Egyptian products totalling $4 billion.

According to recent figures provided by the Commercial Counsellor of the Turkish Embassy in Cairo Atilla Yenigun, 200 Turkish companies are currently operating in Egypt with an investment volume of EGP 2 billion.

"We hope to increase the number of companies and the percentage of investments in the future, ” Yenigun said in remarks last year.

The Turkish business delegation which visited Egypt recently expressed to PM Madbouly their gratitude for the full support Turkish investments receive in Egypt.

The delegation stressed that Turkish companies in Egypt have not faced any discrimination from the government based on nationality in the past 15 years.

It added that Turkish companies seek to benefit from Egypt’s strategic position as a trade and investment hub in Africa in light of its preferential trade agreements signed with African countries.

The delegation also reviewed during the meeting with Madbouly plans to increase their new investments by $500 million.