Ahmadinejad was welcomed by President Mohamed Mursi at the Cairo airport, as he is set to attend a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC).

The OIC Summit will be inaugurated in Cairo on Wednesday during which Iran, as president of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) will follow up problems facing the members states.

On the sidelines of the summit, Ahmadinejad is due to meet with Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb Tuesday.

Talking to IRNA in Berlin at the end of his three-day visit to Germany, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said,

“Relations with Egypt have consistently expanded since the popular revolution in that country and this stems from the will of both peoples.”

Egypt is a very important country in the region and the Islamic Republic of Iran views it as a heavyweight in the Middle East and the Islamic world’, he added.

He highlighted the good political ties between the two countries and their cooperation on the international scene, such as the Syrian crisis.

Egypt has responded cautiously to Iranian efforts to restore ties since Mursi took power in 2012, with the two nations adopting opposing stances on the Syrian crisis.

In June, Mursi denied giving an interview to Iran’s Fars news agency which had quoted him as expressing interest in restoring the long-severed ties between the countries. Mursi’s spokesperson said the interview never took place and that Mursi would file a lawsuit against the news agency, according to Reuters.

Iran has hailed the victory of Mursi, who resigned from the Muslim Brotherhood when he was elected in June, as an “Islamic Awakening”. Mursi, however, is struggling to assure Egypt’s Western allies cautious at the prospect of Islamist rule, and Gulf states that are deeply suspicious of Iranian influence, according to Zawya.

Egypt and Iran had had no diplomatic relations since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, with relations escalating in 1980 with Egypt’s recognition of Israel.

According to a report in Egypt’s state news agency quoting Mursi’s spokesman, Ahmadinejad congratulated Mursi on his recent win in Egypt’s presidential election. He also invited Morsi to attend a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement which will be held in Tehran on August 29.

The report did not specify whether Mursi had accepted Ahmadinejad’s invitation.

Egypt and Iran had had no diplomatic relations since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, with relations escalating in 1980 with Egypt’s recognition of Israel.

The call appeared to be the first contact between the two leaders since Mursi was sworn in as president of Egypt.  Iran has previously hailed Mursi’s victory over former ex prime minister under ousted Mubarak, Ahmed Shafiq, in Egypt’s first free presidential election as a “splendid vision of democracy” that marked the country’s “Islamic Awakening.”

Mursi has denied giving an interview to Iran’s Fars news agency which had quoted him as expressing interest in restoring the long-severed ties between the countries. Mursi’s spokesperson said last week the interview never took place and that Mursi would file a lawsuit against the news agency, according to Reuters.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki  arrived  in the Iranian capital Tehran for two days of talks ahead of a meeting next month in Baghdad on Iran’s controversial nuclear program, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.

Al-Maliki arrived in Tehran on Sunday and was welcomed by Iran’s Energy Minister Majid Namjou.

Maliki is expected to meet during his visit with Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, and chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

The focus of talks was on bilateral, regional and international issues, and to “develop and strengthen bilateral ties,” IRNA reported.

Talks during Maliki’s visit are also expected to concentrate on economic and regional issues like the crisis in Syria.

It is the Iraqi premier’s first visit to Iran in nearly two years, and comes as Iraq is preparing to host Iranian officials and the P5+1 group of world powers(Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany) on May 23, for the next round of talks on Tehran’s controversial nuclear weapons program.

Iran and the P5+1 wrapped up the first round of talks in Istanbul, Turkey on April 14. Both sides characterized the talks as “constructive” and “positive.”

Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari has also met with an EU delegation to talk about issues relevant to the upcoming meeting between Iran and the P5+1, according to a statement by Iraq’s Foreign Minister.