Portuguese pres. to meet Grand Imam during visit to Egypt

CAIRO – 11 April 2018: Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will meet Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad al-Tayeb on Thursday as part of his visit to Egypt from Wednesday to Friday.

On the sidelines of his meeting, the Portuguese president will take a tour of Al-Azhar Mosque, accompanied by al-Tayeb, to see its architectural and historic landmarks, particularly after its restoration.

After his tour, he will give a lecture highlighting the relations between East and West, as well as the ways to enhance the values of coexistence and dialogue between different cultures and religions, referring to Portugal as a role model for coexistence among its community components.

During his visit to Egypt, the Portuguese president will meet with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, as well as Egyptian and Portuguese businessmen.

Several economic and trade agreements are expected to be signed between Egypt and Portugal during the President de Sousa’s three-day visit, which started on Wednesday, April 11.

According to a statement issued Wednesday by Egypt's State Information Service (SIS), President de Sousa is expected to meet with Sisi on Thursday. This is the first visit of a Portuguese president to Egypt in 24 years. De Sousa was elected president of Portugal in 2016.

The SIS statement affirmed that this visit will be a great chance for both countries to enhance their economic, political, diplomatic and cultural cooperation. Egypt and Portugal are members of the intergovernmental organization Union for the Mediterranean, which includes 43 countries from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin.

Previously, Grand Imam al-Tayeb embarked on a tour on March 14 to visit Portugal and attend the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Islamic Society in Portugal.

De Sousa praised the visit of Tayeb, stressing that he delivered a message of peace and tolerance.

President Sisi, on the other hand, made an official visit to Portugal in December 2016, where he met President de Sousa, the prime minister and the mayor of Lisbon, along with representatives of a number of scientific and academic institutions and businessmen.

The talks tackled the means of promoting political and diplomatic ties and boosting cooperation in the fields of economy, science, research and defense, along with regional and international issues, including the situation in the Middle East and ways to combat terrorism.

Egypt has been looking into cooperation in military manufacturing with Portugal, as Egyptian Minister of State for Military Production Mohamed El-Assar discussed cooperation in the field of joint military and civil manufacturing with Portuguese Ambassador to Egypt Madalena Fischer in December 2017.