Ahmadinejad is in Cairo where he will meet Morsi and Al Azhar Rector Ahmad el Tayyeb. Egypt's Foreign minister tries to reassure Arab Gulf states about converging interests.

Cairo (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Cairo today. He is the first Iranian head of state to visit Egypt since diplomatic relations were cut off after Iran's 1979 revolution. The visit underscores Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's desire to change Egypt's foreign policy, a decision that is raising concern in the Arab Gulf states. In response, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said on Monday "Egypt's bilateral relations with any country would not come at the expense of Gulf security".

Before leaving Tehran for Cairo, where he will attend the annual meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Iranian leader said that he wanted "to follow up problems facing the member states and [. . .]  seek a practical way out of the bloody crisis in Syria," IRNA, Iran's official news agency, reported.

The president' aim is "to reach a common viewpoint" with senior Egyptian officials about the "changing situation both in the region and worldwide," noting that "convergence on regional and world developments would benefit all nations."

For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said last night that "the relations with Egypt have consistently expanded since the popular revolution in that country and this stems from the will of both peoples".

The meeting between the two presidents follows another one in August of last year (pictured) when Morsi travelled to Tehran for a summit of the Non-aligned Movement.

This time, the visit will take part on the sidelines of the OIC summit. At the same time, Ahmadinejad said that he wanted to meet Al Azhar Rector Ahmad el Tayyeb and travel to Gaza.

The Iranian leader's desire to meet the highest Sunni authority is part of an apparent attempt to reset Egyptian-Iranian relations.

Speaking to Al Mayadeen, the Iranian leader expressed a desire to visit Palestinian territory. "If they allow it, I would go to Gaza to visit the people," he said without saying whose authority he would seek, as Iran does not recognise Israel.

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