Iran's president begins historic Egypt visit

[pampango]

1. Shiite leader visiting and talking with Sunni leader. Hope the countries formally reestablish

diplomatic relations. The more they get along with each other the better. They represent two of the three (along with Turkey) largest countries in the Middle East.

Tehran severed ties with Cairo in 1980 in protest at a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel by then Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.

Iran supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Egypt has been a leading voice in urging his departure

Egypt has responded cautiously to Iranian efforts to revive ties since Morsi took power in 2012, with the two nations adopting opposing positions on the Syrian conflict.

"If Tehran and Cairo see more eye to eye on regional and international issues, many [issues] will change," Ahmadinejad was quoted by IRNA as saying.