His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb received Dr. Pshtiwan Sadq Abdullah, Minister of Endowment and Religious Affairs in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, on Tuesday at Al-Azhar headquarters to discuss ways to enhance academic and religious dawah cooperation between the two sides.

The Grand Imam emphasized the deep historical ties linking Al-Azhar with Iraq, noting that Iraqi and Kurdish students who have come to study at Al-Azhar throughout history have contributed to consolidating and strengthening this relationship. He pointed out that Al-Azhar currently hosts 244 students from the Kurdistan Region across various educational levels and offers 25 scholarships specifically for students from the Erbil Institute in Kurdistan to enroll in various academic disciplines at Al-Azhar University. He affirmed Al-Azhar's readiness to enhance cooperation with the region in academic and religious fields.

For his part, Dr. Pshtiwan Sadq Abdullah expressed his pleasure at meeting the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and his appreciation for the Grand Imam’s significant efforts to promote the values of peace and tolerance. He emphasized that Al-Azhar stands as a scholarly and religious bastion where the people of Kurdistan aspire to study and benefit from the knowledge of its sheikhs and scholars, while also expressing deep appreciation for the academic and educational support Al-Azhar provides to the people of Iraqi Kurdistan.