2nd group of Iranian tourists visit Egypt

Sat Jun 8, 2013 16:45:05

The second group of Iranian tourists entered Egypt for the first time following an agreement between the two nations to resume bilateral tourism activities, Al-Alam reports.

The tourists touched down on Egypt on Saturday to stay for a 10-day tour.

The first group arrived at Egypt in May 31 amid tight security measures which according to Egyptian officials was meant for their own protection.

Egypt-Iran ties were low for years and they soured even more after Egypt's former autocratic ruler Hosni Mubarak, signed a peace treaty with the occupying regime of Israel.

Following the ouster of Mubarak in a 2011 uprising, his successor, President Mohammed Morsi, reached out with a visit to the Islamic republic just months after winning elections last year.

It was the first such trip by an Egyptian leader in decades. And a few months later, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Cairo to attend a conference of Islamic nations.

Egypt has since made an effort to lure Iranian tourists to help the Arab country's economy as relations between the two regional heavyweights continued to improve.

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