President Shavkat Mirziyoyev hosted the visiting Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Mohammad Ahmed el-Tayeb Thursday.

Welcoming the guest, Shavkat Mirziyoyev underscored that the official visit of the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, on September 4-5 to Uzbekistan was a historic event in the development of bilateral relations.

The parties reportedly noted the large-scale efforts undertaken in Uzbekistan and Egypt to promote the principles of tolerance, the enlightenment role ​​of the sacred religion of Islam, preserving its humanistic essence, studying the religious and spiritual heritage and countering various threats and challenges.

In particular, the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan, the Center for Islamic Civilization in Tashkent, and the Imam Bukhari International Research Center in Samarkand were created with an aim to promote among the people, especially the youth, the true Islam through the principle “With Enlightenment Against Ignorance”.

Mirziyoyev noted that the Memorandums of Cooperation signed with Al-Azhar University are important in fostering the exchange of religious figures, scholars, qualified teachers and talented students.

The Grand Imam of Egypt expressed his gratitude to Shavkat Mirziyoev, for the warm welcome and conveyed the sincere greetings and best wishes of the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Ahmad Tayyib praised the ongoing large-scale reforms in our country. He expressed full support for the policy pursued in Uzbekistan of studying and promoting the true essence of the religion of Islam, a broad study of the religious and spiritual heritage, as well as initiatives put forward by the President of our country at the UN.

The guest emphasized the importance of jointly studying the invaluable scientific heritage of our great scholars, such as Imam Bukhari, Imam Termizi, Imam Maturidi, Abu Mouin Nasafi, Mahmoud Zamahshari, who made a great contribution to the development of Islam.

Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb noted that awarding him the title of first honorary professor of the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan is a great honor and responsibility for him.

He supported the creation of a department of Al-Azhar University at the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan and expressed the commitment of the Egyptian side to the consistent development and elevating to a new level the ties with Uzbekistan not only in the educational and humanitarian spheres, but also in all other areas.