Turkey agrees to provide combat drones Bayraktar TB2 to Egypt

ANKARA - Turkey agreed to provide its increasingly popular drones to Egypt after the two countries normalized ties following a decade of rupture, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is set to travel to Egypt on Feb. 14 to meet counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in his first visit since Ankara and Cairo upgraded relations by appointing ambassadors last year.

Fidan told private A Haber television that Turkey's leader will discuss bilateral and regional issues including trade, energy, and security with Sisi.

"Normalisation in our relations is important for Egypt to have certain technologies. We have an agreement to provide (Egypt) unmanned air vehicles and other technologies," Fidan said, without further elaborating.

International demand for Turkish drones has soared after their impact on conflicts in Syria, Libya, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine. Ethiopia, which has frosty relations with Egypt over a hydropower dam on the Blue Nile, is among the buyers of Turkish drones.

Source: Reuters