Red carpet welcome for Ahmadinejad

Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi (center-right) and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (center-left) listen to the national anthems during a welcome ceremony at the airport in Cairo on Tuesday. [Photo/Agencies]

Re-establishing ties between Egypt, Iran will take time despite visit, experts say.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for the first visit by an Iranian leader in more than three decades, marking a historic departure from years of frigid ties between the two regional heavyweights.

Observers said the occasion offers a good opportunity for closer contact, but the re-establishment of diplomatic relations will take some time.

Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood politician elected in June, gave Ahmadinejad a red-carpet welcome on the tarmac at Cairo airport, shaking the Iranian's hand and exchanging a kiss on each cheek as a military honor guard stood at attention.

"The political geography of the region will change if Iran and Egypt take an unified position on the Palestinian question," Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Al-Mayadeen, a Beirut-based TV station, on the eve of his visit. He said he wanted to visit the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory that neighbors Egypt to the east and is run by the Islamist movement Hamas.

Ahmadinejad is to attend a summit meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to be held on Wednesday and Thursday in Cairo, on the most important issues in the Islamic world, particularly seeking a practical way out of the ongoing Syrian crisis, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.

The most important meeting during Ahmadinejad's stay will be talking with Morsi, a major development after three decades of frozen ties.

It will be the second time the two leaders have meet and Morsi made a historic visit to Teheran in August.

Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi said he is "optimistic about the future of the two countries' relations", IRNA reported.

"Egypt is a very important country in the region and the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that this country is one of the heavyweights in the Middle East and among Islamic countries," he said.

He Wenping, an expert in West Asian and African studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it is still too early to talk about re-establishing ties, though both sides have witnessed a rapid change in relations at the highest levels since last year.

The two countries need to re-establish cordial relations, as Iran sees the improvement of ties as a way to break the blockade by the United States, she said, adding that Morsi also wants to restore his country's weight and influence in the region.

"Morsi has stressed that he wants to balance his foreign policy," she said.

Egypt does not want to risk its interests with the US, whose support is necessary for it to get an intended loan of $4.8 billion from the International Monetary Fund, said Mostafa Kamel al-Sayed, a political science professor at Cairo University, Xinhua reported.

But the two countries still diverge over some issues, such as Iran's disagreements with the Gulf countries over the Syria issue, Al-Sayed added.

With 57 member states spread over four continents, the OIC is the second-largest inter-governmental organization in the world, after the United Nations.