The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, received the Prime Minister of Iraq, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, during his visit to Cairo.

Al-Azhar's efforts to refute extremist thought contributed to the success of the war on terrorism, said the Prime Minister of Iraq.

At the beginning of the meeting, His Eminence welcomed the Iraqi Prime Minister and the accompanying delegation, indicating that Egypt and Iraq have historical relations and have always been important hubs for Arab integration and joint action.

His Eminence praised the great results achieved by Iraq in fighting terrorism and eliminating the terrorist organization ISIS.

The Grand Imam added that Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif opens its doors to all Iraqis with all their constituencies, and is ready for further cooperation in various academic and missionary fields. Al-Azhar is ready to provide more scholarships to Iraqi students, and train Iraqi imams and Islamic preachers to deal with the most important issues and problems facing them and to enable them to contribute to achieving stability and social coexistence in Iraq.

The Iraqi Prime Minister, for his part, affirmed his country's great appreciation for Al-Azhar's pivotal role in confronting extremism and terrorism, noting that Al-Azhar's efforts in refuting extremist thought constituted a major factor in the success of the war on terrorism.

Mr. Abdul-Mahdi expressed Iraq's aspiration to raise the level of cooperation with Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif, the largest Islamic institution.  He stressed that the Iraqi people, with all their components and sects, hold Al-Azhar in great esteem because of its sincere and impartial stances towards Iraq, and because it has been an umbrella that unites the people of the nation throughout its history.