Head of Egypt's Interest Section in Iran Khalid Al-Said Ibrahim Amari says a large Egyptian economic delegation is due to arrive in the Islamic Republic later this week. Amari told Iranian news agency IRNA on Monday that a meeting on economic cooperation between Iran and Egypt would be held on February 19 and 20 in Iran's capital, Tehran. He added that the Egyptian delegation would comprise of economic activists and the representatives of various fields in Egypt's private sector. The Egyptian official added that the meeting would be chaired by Mohammad Nahavandian, the chairman of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines. Amari said the grounds and potentials for increasing economic cooperation between Iran and Egypt would be discussed at the meeting. Iran severed its diplomatic ties with Egypt after the 1979 Islamic Revolution because Egypt had signed the Camp David Accords with the Israeli regime and offered asylum to Iran's deposed monarch, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Bilateral relations changed, however, following the Egyptian revolution in 2011 that resulted in the ouster of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak. Earlier in February, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Egypt to attend the 12th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Ahmadinejad was received by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi upon his arrival at Cairo International Airport. He was the first Iranian head of state to visit Egypt in 34 years. Morsi had also visited Iran in August 2012 to attend a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It was the first visit of an Egyptian president to Iran in more than three decades.
