Ahmadinejad: Iran-Egypt Close Ties Help Improve Regional, Int’l Situation

(FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed that the reforming and improving the situation in the region and the world depends on the resumption of close relations between Iran and Egypt.

"Iran and Egypt should have close and intimate relations and there is no other way to correct the regional and international conditions but this," Ahmadinejad said in Tehran on Sunday.

He also said that if Iran and Egypt have close relations with each other, all the equations of certain countries will change.

"Today the westerners intend to organize a new Middle-East and create proper conditions for their continued hegemony over the region and if Iran and Egypt stand beside each other, their plot will be foiled; hence, they are doing their best to prevent the expansion of relations between the two countries," Ahmadinejad underscored.

After the collapse of Hosni Mubarak's regime, the Iranian and Egyptian officials voiced their interest in the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi officially invited the then Egyptian counterpart Nabil Al-Arabi to pay a visit to Tehran.

Later, the Iranian foreign minister and his former Egyptian counterpart also held a meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

Also, during the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran late August, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Egyptian counterpart Mohammad Mursi conferred on ways to promote the bilateral relations between Tehran and Cairo, and stressed the need for continued consultations in this regard.

In a latest development earlier this month, Ahmadinejad met with Mursi in Egypt, and reiterated Tehran's preparedness to resume ties with Cairo.

The two presidents explored avenues for the further expansion of mutual cooperation between their countries.

President Ahmadinejad pointed to the ancient histories and civilizations of Iran and Egypt, and said that the two countries play crucial roles in regional politics.

"The relations of the two nations have always moved on a positive trend and we should now utilize all potentials to enhance the level of these relations," he said.

Ahmadinejad noted that the Islamic Republic is ready to resume and broaden its relations with Egypt in all fields.

President Mursi, for his part, stressed Tehran and Cairo's key role and influence in the region and the world, and said, "Today, cooperation between Iran and Egypt is necessary in all fields."