- Title: Angela Merkel meets with Egypt's religious leaders
- Date: 2nd March 2017
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (MARCH 2, 2017) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF EXTERIORS OF HEADQUARTERS OF AL-AZHAR, RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION FOR SUNNI ISLAM IN EGYPT GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL WITH AL-AZHAR GRAND IMAM SHEIKH AHMED AL-TAYEB AND DELEGATIONS VARIOUS OF MERKEL AND AL-TAYEB DURING MEETING EXTERIOR OF ABBASIYA CATHEDRAL, THE SEAT OF EGYPT'S COPT
- Embargoed: 16th March 2017 17:38
- Keywords: Angela Merkel Germany Pope Tawadros Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb
- Location: CAIRO, EGYPT
- City: CAIRO, EGYPT
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001669QFYF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Egypt's top religious leaders on Thursday (March 2) during her visit to Cairo.
Among those she met was the Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, considered Sunni Islam's top theologian and the head of the religious institution Al-Azhar, and Coptic Pope Tawadros II, the leader of Egypt's estimated 8 million Christians.
During her meeting with the Coptic Pope at the Abbasiya Cathedral, the German leader laid flowers at a mural which paid tribute to Copts killed in church attacks.
Tension have been mounting between the two religious groups following a series of attack on Coptic churches after the downfall of Egypt's former long-term President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Merkel's meetings with the religious leaders followed bilateral talks with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in which she discussed ways to boost German investment in Africa, slow the flow of migrants into Europe and increase intelligence-sharing to combat Islamic militants.
She will depart to Tunisia on Friday to meet Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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