The Vice President Meets With Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif

 
 
On Wednesday, Vice President Faisal Naseem met with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Professor Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb. The Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar Mosque and University is Sunni Islam’s highest authority in jurisprudence. The Vice President met with the Grand Imam on his visit to Egypt to attend the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27).

During the meeting in Cairo, the Vice President highlighted the valued long-standing diplomatic friendship between Egypt and the Maldives. In this sense, he recalled the close historical bonds and cooperation between the two countries in terms of our shared Islamic and cultural values.

The Vice President and the Grand Imam spoke on various topics of mutual interest at the meeting including higher education and human resource development, the training of imams and the fight against violent extremism and radicalization. In this regard, the Grand Imam assured the Vice President that he would be facilitating more short-term training, scholarship opportunities and teachers to the Maldives.

Moreover, the Vice President and Grand Imam also discussed on establishing a dedicated Arab language training centre in the Maldives with the assistance of Egypt. Additionally, the Vice President acknowledged the support extended by the Government of Egypt in areas of socioeconomic and human resources and expressed his thanks to the government.

The meeting also saw Faisal Naseem appreciating the pivotal role played by Al-Azhar University in the Maldives education sector and remarked that the university has been providing annual scholarships to the Maldives from as early as the 80s. The meeting concluded with the Vice President and Grand Imam agreeing to work closely with Egypt both bilaterally and on the international fora, to address radicalization.

Before concluding the visit, the Vice President extended an invitation to the Grand Imam to undertake a visit to the Maldives.