Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi arrived in Pakistan on Monday on a day-long visit with a high-powered delegation ahead of a three-day official visit to India.
Morsi was welcomed with a 21-gun salute on arrival at Nur Khan airbase. He was given a guard of honour at the presidency. Morsi was flanked by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. This is the first bilateral visit by an Egyptian leader to Pakistan since the 1960s, when the late Gamal Abdel Nasser travelled to the country. Morsi is visiting Pakistan at the invitation of Zardari.
“President Morsi’s decision to choose Pakistan as the first South Asian country for a bilateral visit manifests Egypt’s desire to add a new chapter to its bilateral ties with Pakistan,” said a statement issued earlier by the Foreign Office. The visit is being seen as “a watershed and a landmark in the traditional and friendly relations between the two large and important Muslim countries”, the statement said.