OIC president welcomes Iran-Egypt ties

“Iran-Egypt friendly ties is in line with Muslim interests, so , in the near future, the two sides should strengthen bilateral relations because the consolidation will lead to stability and improvement of Muslim world,” Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC secretary General said at a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi.

According to Taqrib News Agency (TNA), Ihsanoglu has pointed to the negative repercussions of religious bigotry and said “fundamentalism and prejudices adopted by some Islamic Movements which are founded on the principles of moderation seems contradictory.”

He referred to the Islamic countries emergency meeting in Mecca and the statement released by the participants as an example, which stipulated moderation and deviation from extremism.

Ihsanoglu also underscored the importance of the Egypt popular uprising in history of world revolutions and said “the Egypt revolution came as millions of Egyptians stood against oppression and taken an approach founded on change and the establishment of a democratic society.”

The senior Muslim official also applauded Cairo’s decision to reopen Gaza cross border, a move which was also welcomed by the high-profile Muslim body, OIC.

Tehran and Egypt have jumped the gun to beef up reciprocal ties which had frozen over the past three decades.

The move, however, has not been welcomed by some regional states, fearing that the breaking the ice of the two Muslim nations would marginalize some nations who presumed the two countries relations as a threat to their interests.