First Lady Jill Biden stressed the importance of supporting youth education and empowering women, during her first visit to Egypt on Friday.
Biden landed in Cairo Friday, on the second leg of her six-day trip across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe that seeks to promote empowerment for women and education for young people.
The First Lady visited Al-Azhar Mosque, inspected its historical features and corridors, and listened to an explanation by the President of Al-Azhar University, Salama Daoud, about the history of the mosque.
“Al-Azhar Mosque is one of the most important mosques in Egypt, and one of the most famous ancient mosques in the Islamic world. It was established more than 1083 years ago, to be the most important institution for spreading and teaching moderate and enlightened Islam,” Daoud said.
According to an official statement, “women received great attention from Al-Azhar during the era of the sheikh of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayyib, who was keen to support and empower women” working in the mosque.
The American First Lady expressed her happiness at her visit to Egypt and the Al-Azhar Mosque, thanking Daoud for his warm reception.
She also stressed “the importance of supporting youth education and empowering women, and the need for peoples strengthen relations between them.”
Jill Biden also visited the pyramids area in Giza, and stopped in front of the Great Pyramid of Khufu.
She was accompanied during the visit by the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Issa, the Chargé d’Affaires of the US Ambassador to Cairo, John Desrocher, and the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt, Mostafa Waziri.
Issa granted a pharaonic necklace-shaped souvenir to Biden at the end of her tour at the Giza Pyramids.
The First Lady also visited a technical school in Cairo, accompanied by the Egyptian Minister of Education and Technical Education, Reda Hegazy, and a number of Egyptian officials.
“Together, the United States and Egypt are working with local companies to bring on-the-job training to the classroom,” she said on Twitter.
