Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (left) meets with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (right) in Damascus on Feb 27, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

CAIRO — The Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad will hold talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry on Saturday.

It is the first visit by a top Syrian diplomat to Egypt since the start of the Syrian civil war about 12 years ago.

READ MORE: Egypt's foreign minister breaks ice with visits to Syria, Türkiye

Strained relations between Syria and Arab countries have started to ease after the deadly earthquakes jolted large swathes of areas along the Turkish-Syrian border on Feb 6 and killed tens of thousands of people in the two countries.

On Feb 27, Shoukry met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus to express Egypt's support for Syria in dealing with the repercussions of the earthquakes and its willingness to strengthen bilateral relations.