Al-Azhar Grand Imam (GI), Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, received this morning, Tuesday, at Al-Azhar HQ, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, the UN Secretary-General's Envoy for Financing for Development, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation.

His Eminence the Grand Imam welcomed Dr. Mohieddin, stressing that Al-Azhar, based on its humanitarian role and religious and moral duties, does not hesitate to provide all forms of support to developing and less fortunate countries, especially in light of contemporary global challenges. He expressed his regret at the absence of global justice and the failure of some major countries to support developing countries. He pointed out that today’s world cannot be described as a civilized world, but rather a materialistic world, a world where weapons manufacturers prosper on the fires of wars and conflicts that devour the bodies of innocent children.

Dr. Mohieddin, for his part, expressed his appreciation for the great efforts made by His Eminence the Grand Imam in spreading the values of fraternity and peace, highlighting the voice of religion in development issues, and the impact of this voice in directing solidarity towards reducing pressures on developing countries. The UN Envoy pointed out his aspiration to cooperate with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif and the Muslim Council of Elders (MCE) in raising the attention of the international community and relevant institutions in our Arab and Islamic world to the need to intensify support for developing and poor countries to enable them to implement their development projects and confront their internal challenges.