Interviewed by the Mehr News Agency, Mojtaba Amani said that the meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Egyptian counterpart Nabil al-Arabi will be held on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
Amani added that holding such a meeting is a normal move since “Egypt is the current chair of the NAM and the Islamic Republic of Iran will be the next chair of the NAM. And meetings are always held between the current and next chairs of the Non-Aligned Movement.”
However, considering the fact that Nabil al-Arabi recently made overtures to the Iranian government and Iranian officials welcomed the decision, it seems that the two foreign ministers will discuss the reestablishment of relations between the two countries, he stated.
In an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Al Shorouq on Wednesday, al-Arabi announced that he will meet Salehi on the sidelines of the NAM meeting.
“This meeting is an opportunity to evaluate the next steps in regard to relations between the two countries,” Egypt’s new foreign minister stated.
Iran severed relations with Egypt following the Islamic Revolution of 1979 because Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel and gave refuge to ousted Iranian dictator Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
After the collapse of Hosni Mubarak's regime, Iranian and Egyptian officials expressed interest in restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries and the Iranian foreign minister officially invited al-Arabi to pay a visit to Tehran.
EP/PA
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MNA