| code: 326942 | Date: 2012/07/05 - 14:48 | source: IRNA | print |
President Ahmadinejad calls Egypt President-elect Morsi |
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Ahmadinejad wished the Muslim Brotherhood politician success in his call with Mursi, the Egyptian state news agency reported, quoting Mursi’s spokesman.
The 16th NAM summit will be held in Tehran from August 26-31. During the NAM summit meeting, the Islamic Republic of Iran will receive the NAM rotating chairmanship for the next three-year period.
Egypt hosted the NAM ministerial meeting from May 9-10, 2012.
The Non-Aligned Movement includes 118 member states representing the interests and priorities of developing countries. Iran will receive the rotating presidency of the movement from Egypt for three years during the Tehran summit. Venezuela will host the 17th summit of the NAM in 2015.
NAM was founded in former Yugoslavia in 1961. The countries of the Non-Aligned Movement represent nearly two-thirds of the UN members and contain 55 percent of the world population.
NAM's purpose as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979 is to ensure “the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the non-aligned countries.”
Since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, Iranian officials have worked with Egypt’s interim government to restore diplomatic ties. Shortly after Mubarak stepped down from office, the Islamic Republic two of Iranian warships were allowed to pass through the Suez Canal, the first such passage by an Iranian naval vessel since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The high-level visit of Iranian officials to Cairo in August 2011 suggests that Iran and Egypt may be on a path to restore official ties.
On April 17, 2011, Egyptian foreign ministry spokeswoman Menha Bakhour asserted, “We are prepared to take a different view of Iran. The former regime used to see Iran as an enemy, but we don’t.”
On August 16, 2008, Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad defended Iran’s right to a peaceful nuclear program.
On August 2, 2011, a delegation of Egyptian investors and businessmen met with officials from Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines in an effort to begin restoring bilateral trade relations between the two states.
On December 3, 2007, Iranian Minister of Industry and Mines Ali-Akbar Mehrabian met in Cairo with Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid.
/106