Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Deputy Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Furkat Sidikov, who is on a visit to Cairo, today met with Nazir Muhammad Nazir, Secretary General of the Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy.

From time immemorial, the peoples of Uzbekistan and Egypt have been linked by close traditions and customs, trade, economic and cultural ties, as well as the values of the sacred religion of Islam. The ancient Egyptian religious school "Al-Azhar", like the madrasah in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, has been a leading educational center for the peoples of East and West for centuries.

In recent years, relations between Uzbekistan and Al-Azhar have been consistently developing. The agreements reached during the visits of the head of the Al-Azhar complex, the chief imam, Sheikh Ahmad at-Tayyib to Uzbekistan in October 2018 and March 2020 serve to further strengthen ties between the religious and educational institutions of our countries in the field of science, education and religion.

The Secretary-General of the Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy praised the reforms carried out in our country under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in all spheres of life, including in the development of religious and secular education and science. The important results achieved in these areas and the long-term plans are, as emphasized, of great interest to the Egyptian public.

During the meeting, the parties stressed the importance of organizing joint events to promote the principles of interethnic harmony, religious tolerance, enlightenment against ignorance, as well as the purity of Islam, glorifying goodness, moderation, peace, humanity and friendship.

Agreements were reached with representatives of the Al-Azhar complex on the further development of cooperation

in the field of religious, educational and scientific research, advanced training of workers in the field.