His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb received Ambassador Paul Foley, Australia’s Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism, accompanied by Ambassador Neil Hawkins, Australia's Ambassador in Cairo. The Grand Imam stated that Al-Azhar is an institution concerned with promoting moderate thought, teaching true Islam, and opening up to all religious institutions in the world to emphasize that the goal of religions is peace. He asserted that Al-Azhar’s curricula, as assimilated by its top scholars, know only tolerance and moderation. As a proof of this fact, no single figure among the leaders of terrorism groups is an Azharite graduate. He added that Al-Azhar is ready to train more imams in Australia to combat terrorist ideology and redress misconception invested in distorting the image of Islam. According to the Grand Imam, Al-Azhar can also establish an Azharite center to teach Arabic to non-native speakers, and dispatch an Azharite mission to Australia to spread moderate thought in the Australian society.

For his part, Ambassador Paul Foley expressed his appreciation for the role of Al-Azhar in promoting Islamic moderation, especially in the Southeast Asian region. He stressed that his visit to Al-Azhar is to be acquainted with Al-Azhar's vision on confronting escalating terrorism. He also expressed his pleasure with and admiration for the work undertaken by Al-Azhar, noting, “We look forward to cooperating with you and supporting your pro-peace message”.