Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said Wednesday that Egypt is considering the Iranian vice president’s invitation to President Mohamed Morsy for the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran.
Amr said that the purpose of Iranian Vice President Hamid Baqai's visit was to invite Morsy to the 30-31 August summit because as the current head of the movement, Egypt is required to participate in order to hand over the presidency.
Baqai arrived in Cairo Tuesday for a two-day visit to Egypt.
Egypt is currently the president of the Non-Aligned Movement but the office will be passed to Tehran in this year's session. There are 118 countries in the organization, which was established in 1955 to emphasize non-alignment with world superpowers.
London-based daily Al-Hayat reported last week that Morsy would send Amr or Prime Minister Hesham Qandil to the summit as his representative.
During a joint press conference with Amr, Baqai expressed his sorrow and grief for the death of the Egyptian soldiers on the border. He added that he was pleased to be in Egypt, an Islamic country, and hoped that Morsy would attend the Non-Aligned Movement summit.
Diplomatic relations between Egypt and Iran were severed more than 30 years ago, but since Hosni Mubarak was toppled in a popular uprising last year, both Cairo and Tehran have shown interest in renewing ties.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
