Abdel-Rahim Mostafa, a spokesman for Egypt’s Read Sea Ports Authority, said in a statement that a memorandum of understanding for RORO maritime shipping with Ankara – in effect since April of 2012 – had reached the end of its term, Turkey’s BGN News reported.

Late last year, the Egyptian government announced that Egypt would not renew the shipping agreement following its expiration.

Signed in March 2012, the agreement allowed the use of Egyptian seaports for the transport of Turkish commodities – including foodstuffs, electrical appliances and textile products – to importers in the Gulf.

The deal acquired special importance after Syrian authorities blocked the access of Turkish products to Gulf markets over Ankara’s criticisms of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime.