Morsi hesitant to attend NAM summit in Tehran

The official spokesman for the Egyptian president, Yasser Ali, announced in a press statement that President Mohammed Morsi did not specify his position on whether to attend Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit or not, which will be held in Tehran at the end of August, while analysts said to Arabstoday that there are pressures by regional and international powers on Morsi to not to go to Iran, so that the Egyptian-Iranian relations are not restored. The official spokesman for the presidency explained: "when the final position is determined, whether or not to attend, it will be announced immediately," noting that it is related to the interests of Egypt and has nothing to do with the position towards Iran. The statements continued ambiguity about his position on the acceptance or refusal of the visit, which is the first senior official visit by an Egyptian official to Tehran since the Egyptian former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amr Moussa, visited in 1997 in order to head the Egyptian delegation at the summit of the Islamic Conference at that time. It is expected that the visit shall open the door for restoring the severed relations for more than 3 decades between Egypt and Iran, and to achieve a breakthrough in relations which lead to a close diplomatic relations between two of the most important capitals in the region. Head of Iranian patronage office in Cairo, Ambassador Mojtabi Amani, said to Arabstoday that the Egyptian participation in NAM summit has been habitually invited, as we send invitations to officials in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and this is done with any State participating in the summit. Egypt is the head of the organisation and the presidency must be handed over to Tehran in the summit. As for the delivery of a formal invitation to President Mohammed Morsi, he said: “We are currently preparing for this." A political professor specializing in Iranian affairs, Mohammed Said Idris, expected that Mohammed Morsi will not visit Iran during the NAM summit that will be held at the end of the month. MP Mohamed Saeed Idris, Chairman of the Arab Affairs Committee in the dissolved Egyptian parliament expressed to Arabstoday his wish that the President shall go to Iran “there are pressures by regional and international powers on Morsi to prevent him from this visit so that Egypt-Iran relations will not be restored. The Egyptian foreign policy is not yet independent from external forces after the glorious revolution of January 25, despite Egypt’s possession of the most efficient diplomats and ambassadors in the world but the Egyptian policy in the era of President Morsi is following the footsteps of the former president, in subordination to some regional and international powers. Meanwhile, member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs Naji Ghatrifi said to Arabstoday “the President’s visit to Tehran means officially the restoration, as he shall discuss issues with Iranian officials, and perhaps get promises from officials there on strengthening relations and increasing the balance of trade and the return of the diplomatic mission. Iran's Fars news agency which is linked to Iran's revolutionary guards, published an interview that quoted Morsi as saying a closer Egypt-Iran relationship would be "an effective strategic balance" in the region. However Morsi has vehemently denied that the interview took place. Morsi’s visit to Tehran is to participate in the handover of NAM presidency from Egypt to Iran. The visit will not be limited to work at the summit it will include meetings with senior Iranian officials. The most important areas of cooperation between Egypt and Iran according to sources from both sides are the economic, environmental and cultural fields to a lesser extent. Egyptian officials insist that the latter will not include the expansion of religious tourism for the Iranians, who are seeking to visit Egyptian mosques such as al-Hussein and others.