New Egyptian Ambassador to Israel Atef Salem was officially welcomed by Israeli President Shimon Peres at a ceremony on Wednesday inaugurating six new ambassadors.

Salem presented Peres with his letter of accreditation, and said he came carrying a "message of peace" on behalf of Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi.

Salem said his country is devoted to working together with Israel to establish "mutual trust" and that Egypt is committed to all agreements signed with Israel, specifically referring to the 1979 peace agreement.

Salem added that there are some "obstacles to overcome", namely in battling Sinai-based al-Qaida, affiliated terror groups which have carried out deadly attacks against Israeli and Egyptian soldiers and civilians in recent months.

Peres told Salem he believes that the two governments will work to preserve the peace treaty, and added that he believed that Morsi was right in calling on Israel to restart peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Salem, who arrived in Israel in September, is no stranger to the country. In the past he served as Egyptian consul in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat.

Despite the peace treaty between the two countries which ended nearly three decades of hostilities, bilateral relations have had their ups and downs.

For the past 15 years, under the reign of former president Hosni Mubarak, high-level security, diplomatic and economic cooperation intensified.

However, several incidents including over a dozen bomb attacks sabotaging, and then the closure of a natural gas pipeline to Israel, demonstrations in front of the Israeli embassy and several deadly Sinai cross-border raids, have significantly rattled the status quo.