Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs and International Cooperation Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy underlined the importance of Iran's presidency over the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) given the sensitive situation of the region, and said Cairo is willing to establish the highest level of relations with Tehran, according to Fars news agency.
"I am very pleased that we have delivered the NAM presidency to Iran; this is while the conditions of the region and the world seem highly more sensitive and more important than the past," said Ramzy on Monday.
He stressed his country's enthusiasm for the further expansion of ties with Iran, and said, "Egypt in its new conditions wants establishment of the best relations with all the world countries, including Iran, and these relations are based on mutual respect and non-interference in the countries' internal affairs."
Spokesman of Egypt's Presidential Office Yasser Ali on Friday confirmed Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi's visit to Tehran this week, saying that the Egyptian president plans to discuss ties and regional issues with Iranian officials.
Ali said Mursi will visit Iran to take part in the NAM summit on August 30, adding that he also plans to discuss bilateral ties and exchange views over regional issues, especially Syria, in meetings with senior Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
What matters in this visit is cooperation and communication, he said in a statement published by the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
The discussions between the Egyptian and Iranian presidents will target the overall situation in the region and methods of cooperation as well as prospects of cooperation in the Syrian issue since "Iran is a major player in this issue", Ali stated.
The Egyptian president is due to first visit China and then arrive in Tehran to attend the NAM summit meeting in the Iranian capital on August 30.
Mursi's visit will be the first by an Egyptian head of state to Tehran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Many Egyptian and Iranian officials believe that Mursi's upcoming visit to Tehran indicates Cairo's independence from the US and Israeli policies.
"Mursi's presence in Tehran conveys this message to the US and Israel that the era of Egypt's political obedience to Washington and Tel Aviv has ended," said member of the Egyptian parliament Sabri Amer on Sunday.
"During Hosni Mubarak's leadership all the decisions and policies in both areas of domestic and foreign policy were made through coordination with the US and the Zionist regime, but the conditions have now changed in Egypt and the era of the ruling of the Egyptian regimes which were allies and loyal to the West has ended," he added.
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