Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawky Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam, and discussed issues related to promoting social harmony and countering extremism and radicalisation. Modi is visiting Egypt at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. This is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Egypt in 26 years. Modi began his visit with discussions with Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly and top Cabinet ministers to deepen trade relations and further strengthen the strategic partnership.
On a two-day state visit to Egypt, the Prime Minister apprised the Grand Mufti that India would set up a Centre of Excellence in IT at the Dar-al-Ifta- an Egyptian advisory body for Islamic legal research -under the Ministry of Social Justice of Egypt. “They discussed the strong cultural & people to people relations between India and Egypt. Discussions also focused on issues related to social and religious harmony in society and countering extremism and radicalisation,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said.
Grand Mufti appreciated the Prime Minister’s leadership
He said the Grand Mufti appreciated the Prime Minister’s leadership in fostering inclusivity and pluralism.“I was honoured to meet Prime Minister Modi. It was a very nice and interesting meeting. In fact, he reflects a wise leadership for a big country like India,” the Grand Mufti said. He said he had earlier met Modi at one of the Sufi conferences in Delhi. “Between the two meetings, I have noticed that there is a great development in India. It reflects that he is continuously working in India. It also reflects the wise policies being adopted by Prime Minister Modi bringing co-existence between various factions in India,” he said.
“At the religious level, we have strong cooperation between us and India and we are looking forward to further enhancing and deepening this cooperation,” the Grand Mufti said. He said the Indian side has said it would provide Dar-ul-Ifta with a Centre of Excellence in Information Technology.
The Grand Mufti visited India last month at the invitation of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. In an article written ahead of his visit to India, the Grand Mufti referred to statements by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the need for cooperation and bridge-building in a challenging world.
Though such overtures have been welcomed by many, he said practical steps were needed to turn such good wishes into a sustained relationship of mutual trust and respect. “This is the message I wish to deliver on behalf of the Muslim world in India this week,” he had written.
PM Modi meets prominent Egyptian Yoga instructors
During his visit, PM also met prominent yoga instructors, Reem Jabak and Nada Adel in Cairo on Saturday and encouraged them to visit India. He also appreciated them for their commitment towards yoga, as the two instructors briefed the Prime Minister about yoga’s popularity in Egypt.
Meanwhile, one of the yoga instructors, Reem Jabak spoke to ANI and shared her experience after meeting the Prime Minister in Cairo. She said, “It is great to see that despite his busy schedule, he still had time to address Yoga and its importance to Egypt and all around the world.”
“I was very impressed that how he is very keen about the Yoga community in Egypt and how he aspires to bring more intellectuality and information to the Yoga community in Egypt. All religions in the world come from peace and this is something I have learnt from Yoga,” she added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a yoga enthusiast and he proved it during his very recent state visit to the US.
(With inputs from agency)