Cairo- "In pursuit of comprehensive regional reconciliation, the cards had to be rearranged," an official source at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry chose to describe the recent rapprochement between Egypt and Turkey, saying "it is a rapprochement of necessity."

The source told Al Jazeera Net – on condition of anonymity – that "the train of Egyptian-Turkish relations arrived at a major station in the right direction, with an important call from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and congratulate him on the new term."

The official expected that the train of relations will reach the main and final station, which is the return of ambassadors, "very soon" with a meeting between Sisi and Erdogan that was not immediately scheduled, considering that global and regional developments forced everyone to open a new page.

He added that the depth of the historical ties between the Egyptian and Turkish peoples quickly opened the door to resolve differences, noting that relations between Cairo and Ankara began a positive move on the ground after shaking hands with the two presidents on the sidelines of the opening of the football World Cup in November in the presence of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The Egyptian presidency said in a statement last Monday that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to "immediately start upgrading diplomatic relations between the two countries and the exchange of ambassadors."

For its part, the Turkish presidential communication department said in a statement that Sisi expressed to Erdogan his hope that the results of the presidential elections would bring good to the Turkish people, and the two sides discussed steps that would deepen Turkish-Egyptian relations at all levels, foremost of which is the economy.

The necessity of alliance

In this context, Hassan Farouk, a professor of international relations at Beni Suef University, expects the new term of President Erdogan to witness more openness in Turkey's foreign policies, considering that the relationship with Egypt is at the top of the priorities of this opening.

Farouk told Al Jazeera Net that Erdogan's victory in the elections gives him greater liberalization in foreign relations, explaining that Ankara has been seeking for some time to rapprochement with Egypt as an important regional power.

He considered that rapprochement must reach a degree of alliance in many areas, saying, "This is inevitable and necessary."

Hot Files

But on the other hand, Hossam Hamed, an expert and researcher on Turkish affairs at the Center for "East" Studies, believes that there are many hot files that must be carefully opened and approaches and compromises reached, saying that "relations are not rosy" as some imagine.

Hamid pointed out that the situation in Libya and the Turkish presence there add complications to the scene, considering that reaching settlements in this regard will take a long time, with the requirement of what he called "real good intentions" to rearrange the cards on Libyan soil, which is witnessing increasing tensions and tensions.

He predicted that anxiety and complexity related to the situation in Libya will cast a shadow on the future of relations between Cairo and Ankara, noting that the border demarcation agreement between Turkey and the government of Libya, for example, greatly upset Egypt and sparked disputes over laurel fields in the Mediterranean.

The researcher also believes that the improvement of Egyptian-Turkish relations may open the door to a new demarcation of the intertwined maritime borders, and may redraw the map of gas fields and restore to Egypt some of its fields seized by Israel in the region, although it is not far from northern Damietta.

He noted that Egypt may have rushed to demarcate the maritime border with Greece in a way that angered Turkey in the past, but "things are now moving better to get things back on track."

Israeli pressure

But how will Egypt move away from Israeli pressure that sees this rapprochement as a regional threat to it?

Hazem al-Ghandour, a professor of international relations at Menoufia University, argues that Israel will not stand idly by in the face of such a rapprochement, which may affect what he calls "the gas cake in the Mediterranean in the future."

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Ghandour said that Israel is fully aware that any thought of re-demarcating maritime borders – according to new relations and alliances – will be at its expense.

The Egyptian academic predicted that Israeli pressure on Egypt would succeed in reducing the relationship with Turkey even after Erdogan won a new term, but said that at the same time there is a remarkable rapprochement in relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv that will give the issue in the eastern Mediterranean a degree of complexity imposed by the entanglement of interests.

From another angle, Ghandour points out that Cairo has some security demands, which it focuses on and adheres to and relates to tens, perhaps hundreds, of Egyptians accused of what it calls "terrorism" and living in Turkey. According to Ghandour, Egypt is also demanding an end to the media and political voices that oppose Turkey as its territory.

He predicted that steps to "upgrade" relations will proceed at a good pace if Turkey implements the Egyptian conditions for settling these files, which were the root of the dispute, foremost of which are security demands. Egypt also expected any country that aspired to establish normal relations with it to abide by the rules of international law and the principles of good-neighbourliness and to desist from attempts to interfere in its internal affairs.

On the other hand, Hani Abdel Sayed, an expert at the Future Research Center, does not expect Turkey to achieve what it aspires to in the file of foreign relations, especially with Egypt.

Abdul Sayed told Al Jazeera Net that Ankara's ability to increase its influence in the Arab world during the new term of President Erdogan may be limited.

Abdul Sayed argued that major Arab countries would not give Turkey such an opportunity, but said maximizing mutual economic benefits would be at the center of any progress on this front.

Economy is the gateway to all solutions

On the other hand, Ahmed Hindawi, an economist at the Nile Valley Studies Center, believes that Cairo has already focused on commercial benefits throughout the past period, which witnessed a crisis in relations, pointing out that the economic interests sought by Egypt in this context went in isolation from all political crises and witnessed a positive development.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Hindawi describes the economic file as "the gateway to all solutions," pointing out that the Egyptian government, which is racing against time to face a severe shortage of foreign exchange, revealed that Turkish companies pledged new investments in Egypt worth $ 500 million, during the past month only, adding that "joint trade exchange has not been interrupted during the last period."

Abeer Metwally, an expert at the Egyptian Center for Political and Democratic Studies, said that the Egyptian-Turkish rapprochement this time is imposed by pressing international and regional developments, considering that the improvement of Saudi-Iranian relations is not far from this context.

Abeer Metwally also points out in her speech to Al Jazeera Net that Erdogan in his new term has become free hands, and will enjoy great freedom in the file of international relations and solve internal crises, which are all dominated by the economic dimension, as well as the need to expand trade exchange with all countries and give priority to the language of interests.

On the other hand, Egypt seems to be the most in need of maximizing its foreign exchange resources and thus reviving its trade relationship with Turkey as a real investor, explaining that most Turkish investments in Egypt offer important productive projects and provide job opportunities, especially in the ready-made garment industry, and not just buying assets and acquiring land and real estate.

In this context, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met a week ago with a group of Turkish businessmen, and discussed with them the return of business councils between the two countries and facilitating procedures for the work of Turkish investors in Egypt.