President El-Sisi Meets Heads of Churches Participating in the GA of the M.E. Council of Churches

Today in Al-Ittihadiya Palace, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received the heads of churches participating in the General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches, which is currently being held in Cairo, in the presence of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

The Spokesman for the Presidency said the President welcomed the attendees, who are participating in the General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches that is convening in Egypt for the first time since the establishment of the Council in 1968. The President confirmed that Christians in all Arab countries are an integral part of the texture of the entire Arab society.

The President also stressed that citizenship and equal rights for all are fixed values that represent the Egyptian state’s approach towards all citizens. He added that this is what the state establishes through actual and realistic practices in all aspects of life in Egypt to maximize the values of peace, love, and non-discrimination on any basis, and to spread a culture of pluralism and freedom of belief, and, in turn, combat fanaticism and extremism. President El-Sisi stressed that this is the strategic direction of the Egyptian state without being linked to a specific time period.

For their part, the attendees expressed their happiness to visit Egypt and their honor to meet with the President. They praised Egypt’s valuable contributions to human history, its quest for peace, as well as the important role it plays in the Middle East. They also lauded Egypt’s efforts under the leadership of President El-Sisi to reach settlements over the urgent and complex problems facing the region that result in great human suffering. Furthermore, they reiterated their support for Egypt's efforts to combat terrorism and extremist ideology and to achieve development, construction and reconstruction in Egypt and the entire Middle East.

The spokesman said the meeting tackled ways to enhance the various aspects of the relations between Egypt and the Middle East Council of Churches, particularly with regard to efforts to enhance dialogue and citizenship and discard extremism and fanaticism.

The President reviewed the numerous archeological Christian monuments, sites and churches restored in Egypt, which encompass unique historical manuscripts and icons, in addition to the project to revive the path of the Holy Family. This comes within the framework of the interest accorded to protecting the Egyptian Christian heritage.