Egypt views Iran as a strategic partner: Morsi

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has described Iran as its strategic partner and praised its progress on the path toward growth and development.
“Egypt recognizes Iran as its strategic partner, and believes that everyone should provide favorable conditions for regional developments with a positive outlook to the future,” Morsi said on Thursday during a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran.

The Egyptian president also stated, “The feelings of friendship and brotherhood between the people of Iran and Egypt are mutual, and we always praise Iran’s progressive and constructive stance in the direction of growth and development.”

Morsi said the relationships between Islamic countries are the basis for strategic relations, adding, “The true interests of the nations of the region lie in [the fact] that we [must] all create suitable policies using existing structures… on the basis of multilateral relations.” He added, “We believe that all countries in the region need to cooperate in a collective effort to solve the current problems.”

During the same meeting, the Iranian president stated, “We believe that free and open elections must be held everywhere, and this should be done on the basis of public participation.”