Bilateral visit: Egyptian president to address joint session of parliament
A rousing welcome awaits Mohamed Mursi when he becomes the first Egyptian president to visit Pakistan in nearly four decades.
President Mursi will address a specially-convened joint session of parliament during his three-day visit to Pakistan later this month.
Mursi is due to arrive in Islamabad on November 22 for a bilateral visit and a multilateral summit, an official source said, making him the first Egyptian president to visit the country in 37 years. His bilateral agenda will be initiated at the end of the Developing-8 Summit meeting, which will be inaugurated by President Asif Ali Zardari.
A hectic programme is being chalked out for the Egyptian president during his three-day stay in the capital. Mursi will hold separate talks with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on mutual cooperation in different fields, while Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is also set to pay a courtesy call on him.
Political party leaders – Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan and Syed Munawar Husain, among others – will also hold exclusive meetings with the Egyptian president.
The first democratically-elected president of Egypt will also be awarded with an honorary doctorate degree by NUST University before he returns to his home country on November 24.
President Zardari is set to host a banquet in his Egyptian counterpart’s honour at the presidency in Islamabad.
In a special message of felicitation to Mursi on his election as president in June, President Zardari had expressed hope that his success would contribute towards peace and stability in Egypt and that relations between Cairo and Islamabad would further strengthen under his leadership.
According to a press statement issued by the Pakistan embassy in Cairo, President Zardari had expressed keen interest to invite his Egyptian counterpart to the D-8 summit.
Both leaders will meet in Islamabad to discuss the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries. A Foreign Office official said the presidents would also discuss matters of mutual interest, besides exchanging views on international and regional issues during their meeting.
Pakistan and Egypt have been cooperating against terrorism under an agreement. In 2011, Pakistan arrested and extradited to Egypt several terrorists, who were found responsible for an attack on the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad in 1995.
A delegation of Egyptian businessmen and entrepreneurs will accompany Mursi to Islamabad to explore investment opportunities in the growing Pakistani economy.
Pakistan wants to enhance its existing trade volume with Egypt, which, at present, is much lower than expected, the official said.
Islamabad and Cairo are also set to hold the forthcoming Joint Ministerial Commission Meeting.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2012.
COMMENTS (12)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1732883922-0/diddy-(48)1732883922-0-165x106.webp "article")
1732881519-0/Express-Tribune-(6)1732881519-0-270x192.webp "crypto mogul eats banana artwork he bought for 6 2 million")
1732874090-0/BeFunk_§_]__§-(1)1732874090-0.jpg "israeli attack kills three palestinians injures 9 in north gaza")
1732865927-0/Untitled-design-(74)1732865927-0-270x192.webp "china discovers world s largest underground gold deposit worth over 80bn")
vasan, apparently sarcasm is not your specialty. think before you type my indian friends. why do you even care about who visits us?
afghans are signing MOU with India and why not you people do the same
Is it the Indians or liberals who don't approve of relations with Egypt?
Despicable attitude, always to expect others to do something for Pakistan Mr Jihad Bil-Qalam. How about capturing Ayman Al Zawahari from Pakistan and send him back to Egypt. Then you can expect blood money, atleast.
I don't understand the objection to a visiting, popularly elected head of state from the most heavily populated arab country in the world. Finally, there should be zero objection to anyone visiting Pakistan for Trade & Investment. It's not like everyone is queued to do business with us. Why must there be commonality? Do we ask for commonality if the British visit? Pakistan and Egypt are two frontier provinces of the Islamic world. They both inhabit an area near multiple civilizations, they are both D8 and yes Islamic in religion and culture. If the Europeans can have EU (and denying Muslim Turkey), why the shame in pursuing the elusive pan-islamic dream?
It seems to me the commenters are complaining for the sake of complaining.
What are the common bonds of a relationship that can bind the two nations? Other than religion...none. After a hiatus of almost four decades, President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim brotherhood is coming to Pakistan. What happened in between is the best-kept secret. Nevertheless, it is a good move and Inshallah will augur well for our relations. However, President Mursi meeting only the troublemakers in Pakistan society is a something that could have been avoided. His address to the joint sitting of Parliament should be sufficient for him. Salams
Egypt has always had same president for last 50 years. It is a shift in its foreign policy and visit of Pakistan is part of this. We have religion in common and Pakistan after all is an Islamic country. As far as his utter islamism is concerned we need to look beyond this person and look towards Egypt as whole. We have alot to learn from these people as they brought a significant change in their country. Although it is true that the revolution was high jacked by Islamists. Its impact cannot be argued upon.
In any case Mursi's trip is subject to the developments in Gaza. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ D8 stands for Doomed 8?
I think Mursi's address will teach Pakistani politicians lesson, only if they want to learn one..
@umar: Orascom Telecome is from Egypt but you're right. Egypt is probably in a more sad state of affairs than us
Can anyone educate us what is common between Pakistan and Egypt other than religion, and what Egypt has ever done for Pakistan? The only thing Mohammad Mursi can do for Pakistan is to take Ayman Al-Zawahiri and other Brothers back to Egypt with him. Only in that case, he should be allowed to address a joint session of the Pakistani Parliament using his usual emotion ridden rhetoric replete with a pan-Islamist narrative.
Pakistan and Egypt were never good friends. Thats why their president is visiting us after 40 years. Both countries have a bad reputation in the rest of the world. People of both countries are perceived as untrustworthy and crooks. I doubt whether we can have a meaningful relationship with Egypt in economic terms. We get all our oil from the gulf countries and export our products to more lucrative markets in Europe and America. The only thing we can do is co-operate on anti-terrorism efforts since both of our countries are known to produce fanatics. I hope the visit of an Islamist president doesn't embolden our religious parties who can might prove to be the last nail in the coffin of this one promising nation.