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Gül in Egypt to discuss Middle East peace process
President Gül first met with Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and then attended a military parade on the occasion of a graduation ceremony of the Egyptian Military Academy. Mubarak also accompanied Gül to the ceremony. The graduation ceremony featured a presentation of Egyptian army technology and equipment, while many helicopters, tanks and motorcycles took part in the military parade bearing both Egyptian and Turkish flags.
At the end of the ceremony, Mubarak and Gül handed out medals to those students who graduated from the academy with honors.
The Turkish and Egyptian presidents then headed to the presidential palace to hold bilateral talks on a number of issues, including the Middle East peace process and Turkish-Egyptian relations.
The annual trade volume between Turkey and Egypt was $3.26 billion last year. Although observers consider the two states “rivals” in the region, Turkey and Egypt repeatedly rejected such speculation.
While Mubarak visited Turkey twice last year, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has paid numerous visits to Egypt in the past year. Turkey and Egypt have decided to increase military cooperation, including education and training for their military personnel. Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ was in Egypt in late May to boost military cooperation between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines (THY) started direct flights to Egypt's city of Alexandria to promote tourism between Egypt and Turkey a month ago.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on Egypt several times to end the crippling siege on Gaza and ease restrictions on food and goods entering the Gaza Strip. Egypt partially lifted the joint Israeli-Egyptian blockade last month following the deadly Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara. Egypt fears that Hamas militants may instigate instability in Egypt, and also faces Israeli pressure, and thus has kept the border closed. Gül was also expected to discuss Egypt's contribution to easing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza during his talks with Egyptian officials. President Gül returned to Turkey late on Wednesday.
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