Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to attend the 12th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Ahmadinejad was welcomed by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Tuesday upon his arrival in Cairo.
Shortly after Ahmadinejad’s arrival, the two presidents discussed bilateral ties between Iran and Egypt in a meeting.
Director for International Affairs at the Presidential Office Mohammad-Reza Forqani said on January 23 that the Iranian president would take part in the summit in his capacity as the rotating chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, which comprises nearly two-thirds of the member states of the UN General Assembly.
During his visit, Ahmadinejad will meet with Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb and the heads of several Egyptian media. He is also expected to hold talks with acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas.
Iran severed ties with Egypt after Cairo signed the 1978 Camp David Accord with Israel and offered asylum to Iran’s deposed monarch Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. However, Iran and Egypt resumed bilateral ties after the Egyptian revolution in February 2011 which led to the ouster of Egypt’s former dictator, Hosni Mubarak.
Morsi visited Iran for the 16th NAM summit in August 2012, which was the first trip by an Egyptian president to Tehran since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
MYA/MA/HJL
