Malaysia extends official visit invitation to Grand Imam of Al Azhar

Kuala Lumpur –  Malaysia has extended an invitation letter to the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al Sharif, Prof Dr Ahmed Mohamed Al Tayyeb to pay an official visit to Malaysia and attend the 7th International Conference of Al Azhar Graduates in Kuala Lumpur to be held from October 13 to 16.

Wisma Putra, in a statement, said the letter from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was handed over by Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican during his courtesy call on the Deputy Sheikh of Al Azhar Al Sharif, Dr Abbas Shuman, at the latter’s office in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday.

The meeting between both leaders also reviewed the long-standing education cooperation between Malaysia and Al-Azhar institutions, noting that it has become a key component of Malaysia-Egypt bilateral relations.

The statement said the deputy foreign minister during the meeting also expressed his appreciation for the opportunity given for thousands of Malaysian students to further their studies at the Al-Azhar institutions since the early 1940s.

Apart from that, Reezal Merican also requested Al-Azhar to assist on the issue of study visas for Malaysian students studying in Arabic Language Centres (Markaz Lughah) prior to their enrolment into the university.

Presently, there are a total of 11,102 Malaysian students in Egypt undertaking studies in Islamic studies, medicine and dentistry; of that number 7,570 of them are studying at the Al-Azhar University.