In a Sunday evening address to the nation, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi described Egypt's 1952 Revolution – which led to the overthrow of Egypt's 150-year-old monarchy – as "a turning point in the history of modern Egypt by which Egypt's First Republic was created."

Morsi declared that the revolution, which celebrates its 60th anniversary on Monday, had aimed to achieve six primary goals: to provide a democratic and peaceful life for Egyptians; ensure Egypt's national sovereignty; promote social justice; abolish poverty and ignorance; and end rule of feudalism in the country.

The president, who hails from the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood which was persecuted by the Nasser regime in the 1950s and 1960s, went on to say that these goals had represented the "beginning of Egyptian self-determination" and provided "a model for other liberation movements throughout the Arab and Muslim world."

"The [1952] revolution's first steps towards democracy backtracked over the past thirty years due to corruption and oppression, which sapped much of Egypt's national resources," Morsi stated.

The president struck a more conciliatory tone towards the 1952 revolution in his address to the nation on Sunday having openly singled out the 1960s as a decade for special criticism of the pre-January 25 revolution history in his speech in Tahrir Square in late June immediately after he was elected.

Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has also on Sunday evening issued an official communiqué commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 1952 Revolution.