Grand Imam of Al Azhar Ahmed el Tayyeb left here on Monday for Rome to attend a summit with Vatican Pope Francis on efforts to spread peace and co-existence.

Tayyeb is accompanied by a high-ranking delegation. Tayyeb’s visit is the first-ever by an Azhar grand imam to the Vatican.

The two sides will discuss coordinating efforts between Al Azhar and the Vatican to spread the culture of dialogue and co-existence among peoples and nations.

Following the summit, a session of talks will be held to discuss reactivating the committee between Al Azhar and the Vatican.

The session will be headed by Al-Azhar’s Deputy Imam Abbas Shuman and attended by Chairman of Al Azhar's dialogue center Mahmoud Hamdi Zaqzouq and Secretary General of the Islamic Research Academy (AIRA) Mohie El Din Afifi.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, will also attend the meeting.

Source : MENA