FM: Tehran Ready to Send Envoy to Cairo

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi underlined Tehran's enthusiasm for the resumption of normal ties with Cairo, and announced Iran's readiness to send its ambassador to Egypt.
"We are certain that [bilateral] relations will improve in future," Salehi said on Saturday, adding that Iran will wait a few months until the situation is appropriate for Egypt to take a step.

"Iran and Egypt are two important countries whose relations are rooted in history," the Iranian minister added, saying that during the past two decades bilateral ties had been affected by the policies of Egypt's former rulers.

After the collapse of Hosni Mubarak's regime, the Iranian and Egyptian officials voiced their interest in the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi officially invited the then Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Al-Arabi to pay a visit to Tehran.

The Iranian foreign minister and his former Egyptian counterpart also held a meeting in Bali, Indonesia in Spring.

During the meeting which took place on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the two diplomats conferred on ways to promote the bilateral relations between Tehran and Cairo, and stressed the need for continued consultations in this regard.

Al-Arabi had earlier announced that Cairo would soon open a new page with Iran.

Al-Arabi who was replaced with Mohamed El-Orabi became the next Arab League Secretary to replace Amr Mussa.