Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Ambassador Dr. Badr Abdel-Aty, Egyptian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium accredited to the European Union, met with Mr. Frans Van Daly, the European Union's Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion and Belief outside the European Union and the former political advisor to His Majesty the King of Belgium.

The meeting dealt with the momentum in relations between Egypt and the European Union, as well as with Belgium in all areas of common interest, including cooperation on the cultural level. Especially with the important visit made by Queen "Mathilde", Queen of Belgium, and Crown Princess, Princess Elizabeth, to Egypt last March to celebrate the centenary of the visit of Queen Elizabeth, the king's great-grandmother, to Egypt in March 1923 as the first woman to visit the tomb of King Tut Ankh Amon upon discovery.

Ambassador Abdel-Aty highlighted the great interest that the political leadership and government in Egypt attach to continuing to promote religious freedoms and the human rights system as a whole, from the concrete steps taken to achieve this, including the issuance of a unified law on places of worship, in addition to building the largest cathedral in the Middle East in the capital. The new administration, and work to continue the expansion of spreading the culture of tolerance at the societal level within the framework of educational curricula. The European envoy expressed his appreciation for those efforts.

Ambassador Abdel-Aty also stressed that Egypt is a unique model in the region for coexistence and religious tolerance, and a source for spreading the values of peace and brotherhood. As well as Egypt's embrace throughout its history of the three monotheistic religions. He stressed its enlightening role in combating extremist ideology within the framework of an integrated approach to all terrorism. In addition to its important role in supporting dialogue between followers of religions and promoting the values of peace and coexistence, citing the joint initiative of His Eminence the Grand Imam, Sheikh of Al-Azhar and His Holiness the Pope of the Vatican, regarding the launch of the Human Fraternity Document from Abu Dhabi in 2019, which was praised by the European official.