Iranian and Egyptian intellectuals met on Saturday at Al Ahram University's Strategic Studies Center in Cairo for a panel discussion, reported the official Iranian news agency, IRNA.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister in Research and Training Sadeq Kharrazi, who gave the inaugural address at the gathering, expressed delight over the opportunity for both countries' intellectuals to exchange viewpoints.
He also referred to the "great civilization" background of both countries, as the two major poles of the ancient world that had always enjoyed good political, economic and scientific relations, said IRNA.
Kharrazi then turned to the current era of Iranian-Egyptian relations, which he said had witnessed "a bumpy road due to the fast trend of the modern times' developments."
"All the same, the recent Middle East developments led both Iran and Egypt to have a deeper understanding of each others' standpoints," said Kharrazi.
He also referred to the various fields in which the two countries already have close cooperation at various international organizations, as well as the current high level of trade ties between the two countries.
"Even hoping to restore the two countries' political relations provides the best background for the expansion of cooperation among our two great nations in all possible fields," he added.
The head of Al Ahram University's Center for Political and Scientific Studies, Abdul-Mun'im Saeid, was the second speaker at the opening ceremony.
He welcomed the Iranian and Egyptian intellectuals and politicians at the symposium and expressed delight that both Iran and Egypt were still enthusiastic about healing their countries' troubled relations.
"Keeping in mind the trend of global developments, normalizing of political relations between Egypt and Iran is both a political and a strategic necessity for both countries," said the Egyptian academic.
He said that on the whole, the trend of improvements observed during the past year in the two countries' relations in various fields was spectacular.
The first such panel discussion on restoration of bilateral relations was held last June in Tehran at the foreign ministry's international and political studies institute.
The three topics of discussion during the two-day second gathering in Cairo include The New World Order: A Golden Opportunity for Iran and Egypt to Improve Relations, Regional Development: Their Effects on Iran and Egypt, and Iran and Egypt: Surveying the Root of Relations.
The Iranian delegation to Cairo is comprised of a group of political science professors, scientists and cultural figures.
The panel discussion has attracted broad attention from Egyptian mass media, public and intellectuals, said IRNA.
Tehran-Cairo ties have significantly warmed since June 2000 when President Mohammad Khatami spoke over the phone with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak, the first such conversation by the presidents of the two countries since they broke ties in 1979 after Egypt signed the Camp David peace treaty with Israel.
Relations have since improved, and the two countries now run interest sections through the Swiss embassies in Cairo and Tehran, operated by Iranian and Egyptian diplomats.
The only sticking points between the two countries remain the renaming a Tehran street which honors the assassin of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, and a square in Cairo named after the last ousted Iranian monarch, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
In an unexpected move, Tehran City Council voted to open an urgent debate on the issue, which has hampered efforts to improve Iran-Egypt ties – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
