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Turkey, Egypt to accelerate military cooperation
“This cooperation will also contribute to establishing and maintaining peace in the region,” Başbuğ said, speaking to reporters as he was leaving the Turkish fallen soldiers’ cemetery in Cairo on Saturday.
Başbuğ believes cooperation between Turkey and Egypt, including cooperation in the defense industry, will accelerate in the coming period. He said education and training are the primary areas of cooperation between the Turkish and Egyptian armed forces.
Başbuğ’s visit to Egypt had been delayed by three months. He was expected to visit Egypt in February but cancelled his trip when the Sledgehammer coup plan was discovered.
Başbuğ first met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and then had talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who had visited Turkey last year. Başbuğ reportedly discussed military relations between the two countries. Başbuğ then went to visit the Turkish fallen soldiers’ cemetery in Cairo, where almost 4,500 Turkish soldiers are buried.
Başbuğ said that wherever he visits, from the Balkans to the Caucasus, he sees Turkish soldiers’ cemeteries, which shows how big the Ottoman Empire was. He expressed gratitude to the Egyptian caretaker of the cemetery and presented him with a gift.
Noting that the two armies have great importance considering their size, Başbuğ said these are two very experienced armies comprising 500,000-700,000 soldiers. He said there are many areas in which the two armies could cooperate and undertake joint projects, adding that he had discussed these areas with Egyptian officials during his meetings.
At the end of last year when Tantawi visited Turkey, he and Başbuğ signed a memorandum of understanding for military training and technical and scientific cooperation between the Turkish and Egyptian armed forces.
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