On March 8, in Cairo the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed El-Tayeb.

Touching upon the Armenian community of Egypt, which has a centuries-old history, interlocutors agreed that it had an essential contribution to the development of Egypt. The sides commended the friendship between the Armenian and Egyptian peoples, based on mutual respect and trust, as well as the developing cooperation between the two countries, the best manifestation of which was the first visit of the President of Egypt to Armenia in January.

Both sides stressed the importance of implementing joint initiatives aimed at the presentation of the rich religious and historical-cultural heritage.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar emphasized the inadmissibility of manifestations of intolerance and discrimination on the basis of nationality and religion as well as stressed the importance of the efforts towards fighting against extremism and hate speech.

Touching upon the current security situation in the South Caucasus and the current challenges, Minister Mirzoyan underlined that the speculations of the religious factor by Azerbaijan, as well as its groundless attempts to hamper the traditionally warm relations between Armenia and the Armenian people on one side and the Arab world on the other are unacceptable. The minister touched upon the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin corridor and the imperative of lifting the blockade.

Minister Mirzoyan also briefed his interlocutor on the recent developments in the normalization process of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, the efforts of the Armenian side to establish peace in the region as well as the recent statements and actions of Azerbaijan that threaten to destabilize the situation.

In his turn, the Grand Imam reaffirmed the position regarding establishing peace in the South Caucasus by citing his statements since October 2020. In the context of the calls for tolerance among peoples in the region, Ahmed Mohamed El-Tayeb also mentioned the message of the Grand Imam, Sheikh Selim which was made during the Armenian Genocide: save the Armenians and do not participate in the massacres.