One day following the handshake between the Egyptian and Turkish Presidents in Qatar, the Egyptian Presidency announced on Monday the "beginning" of new, improved, diplomatic relations between the countries.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met on Sunday in Qatar for the first time, a picture from Turkey's presidency showed.

Read more: Qatar, Egypt sign memoranda of understanding

The picture of the handshake went viral on social media, catching many observers off guard after the severe tensions that both countries witnessed during the previous years.

Erdogan and El-Sisi have been sparring since the military's 2013 ousting of President Mohammad Morsi.

After the so-called 2011 "Arab Spring" in several Middle Eastern countries, Istanbul became a refuge for Islamist opposition activists, especially for Egyptians linked to Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Read more: Turkey arrests Egyptian opposition journalist affiliated with MB

Egyptian President  Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed the "depth of historical ties between the two countries".

Turkey and Egypt began talks to restore relations in 2021. Despite the relative improvement in relations between the two countries after meetings held at the level of deputy foreign ministers, progress was slow and the two countries did not agree to exchange ambassadors. 

Despite deteriorating ties, Carnegie Middle East Center earlier reported that the trade exchange between the countries nearly tripled in a span of 13 years between 2007 and 2020.

Read more: Erdogan: Relationship with Damascus to be reconsidered after elections