Turkey and Egypt have appointed ambassadors to restore their relations at the highest diplomatic level.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the two governments said Turkey nominated Salih Mutlu Sen as its ambassador to Cairo and Egypt appointed Amr Elhamamy as its envoy to Ankara.

“This step aims at the renormalisation of relations between the two countries and reflects the mutual will to improve bilateral relations in the interests of the Turkish and Egyptian peoples,” the statement said.

Relations between Cairo and Ankara were severed in 2013 after then-military commander and current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a coup to remove President Mohamed Morsi, a former Muslim Brotherhood leader.