Egypt foreign minister oversees aid delivery to Turkey after Syria visit

Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu oversaw the delivery of the sixth shipment of aid provided by Egypt to Ankara, during the Egyptian minister’s visit to the earthquake-hit country.

Shoukry arrived at the Turkish port of Mersin with Cavusoglu, where the two welcomed the latest relief packages sent by Egypt to the victims of the devastating quake that hit the country earlier this month.

Turkey and Egypt will continue to work together to improve relations between their two countries, Turkish foreign minister Cavusoglu said on Monday during a joint conference with his Egyptian counterpart.

“Our visit (to Turkey) is a message of friendship and solidarity,” Shoukry told journalists alongside his Turkish counterpart Cavusoglu, behind an aid ship docked at Mersin’s port.

“We, as the Egyptian government and the Egyptian people, wholeheartedly believe that Turkey will overcome this as soon as possible. It is a great disaster,” he said in remarks translated from Arabic.

“We will continue to do our best to help,” he said.

Shoukry’s visit to Turkey comes after the foreign minister traveled to Damascus for the first time in nearly a decade.

Egypt’s foreign minister arrived in Damascus on Monday, the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to Syria since its civil war began in 2011 and another sign of warming ties between President Bashar al-Assad and Arab states that once shunned him.

Assad has benefited from an outpouring of Arab support for Syria since a February 6 earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and neighbouring Syria.