CAIRO: Turkey’s new charge d’affaires Ali Reza Gunay arrived in Cairo Friday evening to officially take over his duties, state news agency MENA reported.
Gunay arrived in Cairo International Airport from Istanbul aboard a Turkish Airlines plane last night and was greeted by a number of officials of the Turkish Embassy in Cairo, airport sources told MENA.
Turkey recalledd its Ambassador in Cairo for consultation following the dispersal of pro- Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo what were demanding the reinstatement of ousted President Mohamed Morsi in August 2013.
The overthrow of Morsi strained relations between Cairo and Ankara. Tension between the two countries heightened further when they cancelled annual joint naval exercises that were scheduled to be carried out in October 2013.
In November 2013, the Egyptian government has expelled the Turkish ambassador in Cairo and has downgraded its diplomatic representation in Turkey to the level of charge d’affaires over what Cairo referred to as Turkey’s continued “interference in Egypt’s internal affairs.”