Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi arrived in Islamabad on Monday to hold talks with President Asif Ali Zardari,This is the first time an Egyptian head of state is visiting Pakistan in four decades.

Mursi was welcomed by a delegate of senior officials along with ambassadors of Arab countries.The foreign ministry said the visit is a “watershed and a landmark” in relations between the two Muslim nations which would “give a new impetus to economic, trade and cultural relations”.

“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,” it added.Officials from the two countries signed agreements to promote cooperation in shipping, investment, information technology and science and technology.

A number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed during the Egyptian president’s visit. These include an MoU for cooperation in science and technology, another between the Associated Press of Pakistan and Egypt’s Middle East News Agency, and a third between Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) and the Egyptian Social Fund for Development.Mursi was also likely receive an honorary doctorate from the National University of Science and Technology.

Later during the day, Pakistan and Egypt signed five MoUs in total and an Executive Programme for Scientific and Technological Cooperation.The two countries signed the MoUs for Cooperation in the field of Money Orders and International Postal Service and Merchant Shipping.

Other MoUs signed were between Board of Investment and Pakistan and General Authority of Free Zones and Investment of Egypt, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) and the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and between Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) and Special Fund for Development (SFD) of Egypt.The MoUs were signed between Ambassador of Egypt to Pakistan Saeed Hindan and the heads of relevant authorities.