Pope Francis of the Vatican and Al Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed el Tayyeb had a meeting on Monday, the first of its kind in history between the two religious institutions.

The meeting addressed efforts to spread peace and co-existence and means to coordinate efforts between religious scholars against terrorism and extremism.

The two sides also discussed joint efforts between Al Azhar and the Vatican to spread the culture of dialogue, peace and co-existence between peoples and societies.

Tayeb arrived here earlier on a historic visit, the first of its kind, leading an Azhar delegation comprising undersecretary Abbas Shoman, head of Al Azhar Interfaith Dialogue Center Mahmoud Zaqzouq and Secretary General of the Islamic Research Academy Mohieddin Afifi.

Source ; MENA