French President Emmanuel Macron paid a visit on Tuesday to the Al-Azhar headquarters and the St. Mark's Cathedral, seat of Egypt's ancient Coptic Orthodox Church.
The visit concluded a three-day trip to Egypt that he had capped on Monday with talks with President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. A number of economic, trade, education and industry agreements were signed during his visit.
On Tuesday, Macron met with Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, and Pope Tawadros II.
The French leader underscored the importance of dialogue between religions, praising Egyptian government efforts to protect Christian Copts in wake of terrorist attacks they have faced in recent years.
He underlined the importance of education, given its importance in cementing ideals of coexistence and tolerance.
For his part, Pope Tawadros noted that education was among the greatest problems Egypt was facing.
A better education is key to ending this problem, he remarked.
A diplomatic source said the French capital would host a forum on religious minorities in the Middle East, but without giving a date, reported AFP.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Al-Azhar welcomed Marcon’s visit, highlighting the historic and cultural ties that bind Al-Azhar with France.
“This strong relationship makes it inevitable for us to help France defeat terrorism and confront those who fight in the name of religion,” he added.
He also voiced Al-Azhar’s readiness to train imams in France in confronting terrorist ideology and offer scholarships to French students seeking to study at the Al-Azhar in order to transform France as the lauchpad for spreading moderate ideology in Europe.
