Egyptian Minister: Tourism cooperation with Iran continues

Egyptian Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou dismissed media reports that Cairo has blocked Iranians’ tourist visits to Egypt, underlining that tourism cooperation is underway between the two Muslim states.

Zaazou told FNA on Saturday that reports on the halt of Iranian tourist visits to Egypt have their roots in a misunderstanding.

“Whatever has been said about the stop of Iranian tourists’ visit to Egypt does not pertain to Iranians, rather it has been stated due to the start of a season in which tourist visits to Egypt are prevented,” Zaazou said.

He said that his ministry has made the necessary arrangements to resume Iranian tourist trips to Egypt from June, and added that the Egyptian and Iranian sides have not issued any order for a halt in their tourism cooperation.

“The Egyptian side is bound and committed to the implementation of the agreements” made with the Iranian side in the tourism sector.

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 counterpart Nabil Al-Arabi to pay a visit to Tehran.

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

Also, during the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran late August, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Egyptian counterpart Mohammad Mursi conferred on ways to promote the bilateral relations between Tehran and Cairo, and stressed the need for continued consultations in this regard.

In the latest development, Ahmadinejad met with Mursi in Egypt in January, and reiterated Tehran’s preparedness to resume ties with Cairo.

The two presidents explored avenues for the further expansion of mutual cooperation between their countries.