The presidents of Turkey and Iran convened in Cairo on Thursday for a summit of eight Muslim-majority nations, marking their first face-to-face meeting since rebel groups ousted Syria’s Assad regime.
The D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation (Developing-8) summit also includes Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria and Pakistan. Established in 1997 in Turkey and headquartered in Istanbul, the organization aims to enhance cooperation among nations spanning from Africa to Southeast Asia.
The agenda includes a session on Syria and Gaza, with Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas in attendance.
The meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian comes amid significant regional shifts, underscored by the fall of President Bashar Assad, who was backed by Tehran while Ankara supported opposition groups.
Pezeshkian, who arrived in Cairo on Wednesday, is the first Iranian president to visit Egypt since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 2013 visit. Before departing, Pezeshkian described the summit as an opportunity to “bridge our perspectives,” emphasizing its potential to influence regional diplomacy and relations significantly.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi, who visited Egypt in October, expressed hope that the gathering would “deliver a strong message to end Israeli aggressions and violations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria immediately.”
Erdoğan, whose last visit to Egypt was in February, is expected to discuss trade alongside issues concerning Gaza and Lebanon.
