Egypt and Turkey are rapidly building up an alliance that has moved the balance of power in the Middle East, with military and arms manufacturing ties central to their new alignment.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Egypt this month on his second trip to Cairo in as many years. The two visits came after the two nations re-established relations in 2024 after a decade of tension, mainly over the 2013 overthrow in Egypt of an Islamist president – Mohammed Morsi – who enjoyed Ankara's backing.
Bound by ties dating back centuries, Egypt and Turkey have drawn closer since the start of the Gaza war, where the heavy loss of life – more than 72,000 Palestinians to date – and large-scale destruction have drawn condemnations from both as well as charges of genocide.
They have also been drawn together by a shared desire to prevent a militarily resurgent Israel from dominating the region after it dealt heavy blows to Iranian-backed proxies such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran, which was attacked by Israel and the US in June 2025, has also lost influence over Syria.
Sources in Cairo say the Egypt-Turkey alliance is part of a larger configuration that includes Saudi Arabia, another regional powerhouse, with Pakistan and Qatar joining but in a less active capacity.
They said the broader alliance is in part meant to deal with upheavals after the wars in Gaza and Sudan, Israel's continuing strikes against Lebanon and its attempts to secure a foothold in the Horn of Africa and on the Red Sea coastline.
Speaking at the time of Mr Erdogan's visit to Cairo this month, the sources said Egypt and Turkey wanted their relations elevated to a “strategic level” with deeper and broader co-operation in many fields.
Military deals
Their assessment was validated soon after Mr Erdogan returned home.
Turkey's Defence Ministry confirmed that the nation's state-owned arms manufacturer had signed a contract to set up a factory for 155mm long-range artillery ammunition in Egypt, as well as cartridge production facilities.
Egyptian authorities and the Turkish arms manufacturer, known as MKE, will set up a joint company to manage the plants and “increase export potential in Egypt and the surrounding region,” said the ministry.
Turkey also confirmed the export to Egypt of MKE’s Tolga air defence system, which the company says is designed for the protection of ground forces, bases, and naval platforms.
Turkish media reports put the contract value at $350 million, including $130 million for the Tolga. Turkey’s Defence Ministry did not respond to a request to confirm those values or provide a time line for the construction of the factory.
Separately, Turkish Air Force commander Gen Ziya Cemal Kadioglu visited Egypt a week after Mr Erdogan's visit. He met his Egyptian counterpart, Gen Amr Abdel Rahman Saqr, and was given a tour of the Cairo West Air Base.
Neither the Turkish media reports nor the defence ministry mentioned a joint project to build an arms industry complex that the sources in Cairo said would be located on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, and build drones using advanced Turkish technology.
Kaan Devecioglu of Orsam, a think tank in Ankara, said Turkey’s expertise in drones, ammunition, armoured vehicles, and naval forces, combined with its model of joint production, offer Egypt an attractive alternative to other weapons suppliers.
“Egypt’s expectation goes beyond mere systems acquisition,” he said. “It seeks co-operation that enhances domestic production capacity, partially balances dependence on western suppliers, and supports its ambition to become a regional defence manufacturing hub.”
Mr Devecioglu said Turkish-Egyptian relations are approaching the level of strategic ties, but he said the two countries lack a formal military alliance and continue to disagree on some regional issues.
“The full consolidation of mutual trust and long-term alignment on regional issues will be the essential prerequisites for the relationship to evolve into a formal strategic partnership,” he said.
A joint statement issued after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Mr Erdogan met in Cairo this month pledged closer co-operation in a wide range of areas, including increasing bilateral trade from $9 billion annually to $15 billion by 2029.
“The two sides welcome the signing of memos of understanding that include co-operation in the fields of defence, investment, trade, agriculture, health, youth and sports and social protection,” said the statement.
Tensions put aside
During the tense period between Cairo and Ankara, the two nations sided with rival factions in Libya, while Cairo accused Ankara of supporting militant groups in the region and meddling in Arab affairs.
Egypt, moreover, regarded with suspicion Turkey's growing influence in Africa, where Egypt has traditionally exercised the role of big brother and practised soft diplomacy.
Things have dramatically changed since then, with Cairo and Ankara siding with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Sudan in its nearly three-year war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (SAF). Turkey also helped Egypt build bridges with the Tripoli-based government in Libya after years of supporting the rival administration in the country's east.
The statement also stated the two nations' support for the “territorial integrity and safety of Somalia” – a reference to Israel's recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland late last year in a move that raised suspicions that Israel wanted a foothold on the Red Sea.
It is also a thinly veiled reference to attempts by landlocked Ethiopia to gain a territorial foothold on the Red Sea coastline through Somaliland, which Somalia has said is a breach of its sovereignty.
Both Egypt and Turkey enjoy close relations with the Mogadishu government. Additionally, Egypt has been embroiled in a long-running dispute with Ethiopia over its vital share of the Nile waters.
Egypt has seemed unperturbed by Turkey's vast influence in Syria after the overthrow in December 2024 of long-time dictator Bashar Al Assad, although it continues to deal cautiously with Damascus' new regime.
Egypt and Turkey have additionally been sharing intelligence and holding joint war games. They, together with the US and Qatar, mediated the ceasefire that paused the war in Gaza in October.
Indirectly acknowledging the value of ties to Egypt, Turkey has clamped down on critics of Mr El Sisi who have lived in Turkey since the removal of Morsi. It has also shut down TV stations critical of the Egyptian leader and asked senior members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood to leave the country.
