Tayeb meets Singaporean president during Asian tour

CAIRO – 5 April 2018: Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb met on Friday with Singaporean President Halima Yaqoub at the Republic Palace of Astana during the second day of his visit to Singapore.

Tayeb congratulated Yaqoub on being elected as president of Singapore in September 2017, saying that her success is considered “a success to all Muslim women” and goes along with Al-Azhar’s approach of inviting Muslims to positively incorporate and contribute to the societies they live in, according to a Friday statement by Al-Azhar Institute.

He also praised the strong contribution of Singaporean Muslims for the renaissance of their country and their keenness to live positively with the rest of the society.

On Friday, Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean held a luncheon in honor of Tayeb, who started a three-day visit to Singapore on Saturday.

“Egypt and Singapore have special and deep relations, and Al-Azhar is keen to consolidate these relations and push them forward to new prospects,” he added.

For her part, President Yaqoub expressed her happiness and appreciation for Tayeb’s visit to her country, saying that the “Singapore people respect and appreciate Al-Azhar and its efforts to spread the values of moderation, tolerance and rejection of exclusion and militancy.”

She further commended the Azhar initiative of establishing the Council of Elders of Muslims in promoting a culture of peace and dialogue through conferences, seminars and peace convoys dispatched to different countries around the world.

Singapore is Tayeb’s second stop on his Asian tour that started with Indonesia; the last leg will be in Brunei.

Last week, Tayeb had talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on a host of issues of mutual interest.

The meeting came ahead of the opening session of the high-level consultative meeting of World Muslim Ulemas and Islamic Scholars at the presidency headquarters in Bogor, Indonesia to discuss moderate Islamic thought.