His Eminence the Grand Imam visited Portugal at the invitation of Portuguese President, Marcello de Sousa. The Imam began that visit with meeting a number of ambassadors of Arab and Muslim countries, and members of the Muslim community in Lisbon. Then, His Eminence met Mr. Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, Speaker of the Portuguese Parliament, at the Parliament's headquarters, and then President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at the presidency place in Lisbon. He also met with Portuguese Foreign Minister, Augusto Santos Silva, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before visiting the Catholic University of Lisbon, where he gave a speech on The Question of Religious Values and the Crisis of Contemporary Societies.

The Grand Imam performed the Friday prayer at the main mosque in Lisbon, amidst a congregation that warmly received him. Then, His Eminence delivered the keynote speech in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Islamic Society in Lisbon, in the presence of President de Sousa and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

In his speech, the Grand Imam announced the intention to open a Portuguese Language and Literature Department in the Faculty of Languages and Translation at Al-Azhar University.