This week’s joint naval exercises between Turkey and Egypt in the eastern Mediterranean are the latest move in a burgeoning partnership, as Ankara intensifies its efforts to draw Cairo closer and loosen its bonds with Turkish rivals Greece, Cyprus and Israel.
The "Sea of Friendship 2026" naval drills, held from 4-9 November off the coast of Alexandria, follow five years of rapprochement after nearly a decade of mistrust sparked by the 2013 ouster of Mohamed Morsi, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
