Presidential candidate Amr Moussa on Tuesday called for dialogue to end disputes between Iran and Arab states. Moussa said that following his appointment as Foreign Minister in 1991, he had conducted a number of calls with Iranian officials but former President Mubarak ordered him to cut off all communication with Iran.
Iran and Egypt severed ties in 1980 after the Islamic revolution in Iran and the normalization of relations between Egypt and Israel. Both nations have long vied for power in the Middle East. Egypt has been allied with the US and Israel for decades, but since the ouster of Mubarak relations between Cairo and Tehran have warmed.
During his meeting with the Tourism Support Coalition, Moussa asserted that Iranian tourism to Egypt will increase. He assured tourism sector employees that tourism would “return to Egypt as soon as possible, perhaps within three months.”
Commenting on the outbreak of a number of revolutions in Arab States during his stint as secretary general of the Arab League, Moussa said the Arab League had no role in advising presidents, but that it disclosed some aspects of corruption through its committees.
Edited translation from MENA
