Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami and Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak met in Geneva on 11 December 2003 where they both went to attend the first round of the United Nation’s World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) held from 12 to 14 December 2003. The meeting took place at the residence of President Khatami in Geneva and lasted for more than an hour.

This was a significant landmark meeting, as it was the first round of talks at this level since ties had been severed between the two sides after Iran’s Islamic Revolution. After the talks Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told Agence France Presse (AFP) that "the Tehran-Cairo relations that had been severed in 1979 are now back to normal."

During their meeting the two presidents emphasized that the occupiers of Iraq must leave and transfer the country’s sovereignty to the Iraqi nation. The Iranian president referred to the long record of the two countries’ high status in the expansion of Islamic culture and the strong historical bonds between the two nations saying that "further strengthening the two nations’ ties will leave quite a positive effect on the Islamic world."

Khatami said, "Tehran and Cairo can consult and exchange viewpoints in significant developments related to the Islamic world." He evaluated Egypt’s role in the development of the Middle East as "significant", emphasizing that the two countries need to cooperate in efforts aimed at solving the regional crises, including that of Iraq. Adding that, "Israel does not respect any of the international laws and regulations, and by pursuing its oppressing policies in occupied Palestine poses the biggest threat against peace and stability in the region."

During the meeting, President Hosni Mubarak, too, referred to Cairo’s enthusiasm for the establishment of good relations with Tehran, emphasizing, "The current world conditions dictate that Egypt and Iran, as two important countries in the Islamic world, cooperate with each other in various fields." Emphasizing that Iran and Egypt should abandon differences under the current sensitive conditions, President Mubarak said, "We favor the establishment of an appropriate level of ties and cooperation with Iran, and feel closeness with our Iranian brethren in our hearts."

The two sides evaluated the continuation of Iraq’s occupation as a factor contributing to the expansion of terrorist moves and a threat against regional stability, emphasizing the need for the establishment of a political system in Iraq that is in harmony with the regional countries. President Khatami and President Mubarak also emphasized that the rights of all Palestinians need to be respected, including the rights of the Palestinians to return to Palestine.

After the meeting President Khatami told reporters that the two discussed the "historical affinities between the two nations as well as the importance of communications technology" and that Egypt’s stance at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is in favor of Iran. Khatami further assessed Cairo’s cooperation at different working groups of the Islamic conference as positive.

However, Khatami went on to downplay the significance of the meeting saying that "it was nothing new" and that he already had phone contacts with his Egyptian counterpart. He said Iran and Egypt advocate expansion of ties, stressing however that both Tehran and Cairo have certain considerations in this connection. Khatami said he and Mubarak had agreed that relations between the two countries should be promoted, and that Tehran and Cairo can expand relations, particularly in the cultural domain. He said Iran believes that both countries can move forward within the framework of mutual understanding and goodwill.

Khatami said Egypt’s viewpoints in such areas as Iraq and Palestine were close to those of Iran, but the reformist president, who has been instrumental in a growing rapport between Iran and the Arab world since the US invasion of Iraq, added, "there are certain differences of opinion in other areas."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher said the resumption of diplomatic ties between Egypt and Iran is "a natural result of the current developments" in relations. "The issue that is currently being discussed between the two parties is the necessity of taking additional steps to arrive at what we aim," Maher told journalists in Cairo. Maher described the meeting between Mubarak and Khatami as "friendly and successful", adding that the two countries would take steps to strengthen the relations.

A day after the meeting, Iranian Vice-President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad-Ali Abtahi said that President Seyed Mohammad Khatami’s meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak was important for the promotion of Tehran-Cairo ties. Abtahi told al-Jazeera TV that Khatami and Mubarak had in their meeting exchanged views on issues pertinent to Islam, Iraq, Palestine, and terrorism campaign.

He said Khatami-Mubarak talks are of high importance considering position of Iran and Egypt in the world of Islam. He added that common stances of both sides can leave positive and helpful impact on the two-way ties and regional issues. The official said the talks can also have an influential impact on promotion of ties between the friend and brother countries of Iran and Egypt.

Good Egyptian Press: The landmark meeting received favorable press coverage as Egyptian newspapers gave it a warm welcome. Daily al-Ahram commented on the historic meeting said "a quarter century of misunderstanding between two of the greatest countries in the Middle East has been rolled up." "Both Cairo and Tehran should cooperate in handling the most grave issues in the history of Arabs and Muslims, namely the Palestinian cause and the US occupation of Iraq. We hope that Mubarak-Khatami summit would be an initial step on the right track to restore the natural relation and cooperation between the two countries," wrote the paper’s chief editor Ibrahim Nafie.

"The summit represents a direct support to the great hopes of both peoples, the Egyptians and Iranians, to face up to the common precarious of the West’s campaign against terrorism and Israel’s plan to swallow up Jerusalem," noted another article in al-Ahram which is Egypt’s largest-selling paper.

"Every one realizes the significance of the summit represents a special development on the relations between the two countries. The summit left no excuse for rupturing the diplomatic relations, particularly after the significant developments which the Iranian foreign policy witnessed lately," commented al-Ahram.

"We have to make use of the Egyptian-Iranian meeting in Geneva to start good relations between Egypt and Iran on one hand and between Iran and all Arab and Muslim countries on the other," wrote Abbas El Trabili in the opposition paper al-Wafd. "One of the main targets of the US occupation of Iraq is to protect Israel, so we must, due to the Iranian opposing situation against Israel, rebuild the Muslim-Arab relations. The acceptance of Iran, as a monitor, in the Arab League is a good beginning in the Arab-Iranian relations," noted al-Wafd.