AFP PHOTO/IIPA/SAJAD SAFARI
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Cairo on Tuesday ahead of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) 12th session. Ahmadinejad’s visit marks the first time an Iranian head of state has visited Egypt since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
President Mohamed Morsi received his Iranian counterpart at the airport. Ahmadinejad was scheduled to meet with Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb.
Morsi visited Tehran last August for the Non-Aligned Movement summit, and was the first Egyptian head of state to visit Iran since its revolution. Relations between the two nations had been strained due to a number of factors, including Egypt’s participation in the Camp David Accords.
Speaking to reporters before his departure from Tehran, Ahmadinejad told reporters that he looked forward to expanding relations between the two countries. He added that he believed his visit would “definitely affect” the ties between the two nations and that he would seek to lay the groundwork for increased cooperation.
