CAIRO, July 4 (Xinhua) — Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit on Tuesday hailed the upgrade of relations between Egypt and Türkiye to ambassadorial level.

In a statement, the pan-Arab body chairman said the move “is a positive development that will contribute to calming the region and promoting diplomatic communication as a path for settling issues.”

Relations among Arab countries and their regional neighbors should be advanced on the base of mutual respect, international laws, and the interests of regional people, he added.

Earlier in the day, Türkiye and Egypt appointed ambassadors to each other’s capitals to restore normal diplomatic relations.

The relations between the two countries turned sour after former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was ousted in July 2013 and his Türkiye-backed Muslim Brotherhood group outlawed.

On May 29, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to upgrade the diplomatic relations between the two countries and exchange ambassadors.