Iran Mulling Plan to Lift Visa Requirements for Egyptian Nationals

Tehran announced on Thursday that it is studying a plan to lift visa requirements for the Egyptian nationals who are willing to visit Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran is considering to unilaterally waive visa requirement for Egypt’s nationals as of next month.

“Iran will unilaterally cancel visa (requirement) for Egyptian citizens, businesspeople and tourists as of the next month,” said Salehi on the sidelines of the 12th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Egyptian capital city, Cairo, on Thursday.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is also in Cairo to attend the OIC summit, has expressed Iran’s complete readiness to bolster cooperation with Egypt in all sectors.

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, President 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 a latest development on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad met with Mursi, 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.

President Ahmadinejad pointed to the ancient histories and civilizations of Iran and Egypt, and said that the two countries play crucial roles in regional politics.

“The relations of the two nations have always moved on a positive trend and we should now utilize all potentials to enhance the level of these relations,” he said.

Ahmadinejad noted that the Islamic Republic is ready to resume and broaden its relations with Egypt in all fields.

President Mursi, for his part, stressed Tehran and Cairo’s key role and influence in the region and the world, and said, “Today, cooperation between Iran and Egypt is necessary in all fields.”

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.