Jakarta — Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto received a visit from the Grand Sheikh or Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Egypt, Ahmed Al Tayeb at the Ministry of Defense on Wednesday (10/7) afternoon.
Ahmed Al Tayeb and his entourage arrived at the Ministry of Defense at 3:00 PM WIB and were welcomed by Prabowo with warm greetings and handshakes before addressing the media.
They then walked together accompanied by an honor guard and a marching band.
The meeting between the two lasted for about an hour and was conducted in a warm atmosphere. Also present was the former Indonesian Minister of Religion in the 16th era of 1998, M. Quraish Shihab, accompanying Prabowo in the meeting.
“Your Excellency, thank you for visiting us, this is a great honor. The Egyptian nation is very close to our hearts. If I’m not mistaken, in my history, Egypt was the first country to recognize Indonesia’s independence,” said Prabowo.
“I personally admire Egyptian history and the struggle of the Egyptian people, and we are very grateful that Al Azhar always pays attention to and supports Indonesia.”
At that moment, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar also congratulated Prabowo directly on his election as President of Indonesia for the 2024-2029 period.
“We sincerely want to congratulate Your Excellency on being elected as the President of a very large Muslim country in Indonesia,” said Ahmed Al Tayeb to Prabowo.
He also prayed for Prabowo to always be given smoothness in carrying out his duties as President of Indonesia so that his leadership will bring progress, prosperity, and security to Indonesia.
“We also want to offer our best wishes to Your Excellency for a period of leadership ahead filled with progress, prosperity, and security for the Indonesian nation,” Ahmed Al Tayeb prayed.
At the end of the meeting, Prabowo, along with Quraish Shihab and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, exchanged gifts and took photos together.
Prabowo received the book Al-Qawl Al Tayyib from Grand Sheikh Al Azhar Ahmed Al Tayeb and kissed the Al-Quran Mushaf Madinah given to him.
In return, Prabowo presented gifts in the form of a keris (traditional dagger) and a plaque from the Ministry of Defense.
