In August 2022, Ambassador Sadiq Silla held a meeting with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al-Sharif University. During that meeting, Ambassador Silla requested support from the Republic of Sierra Leone in the areas of scholarship offers, technical supervision of Girls, a selected institution in Sierra Leone, training of Mosque Imams, and provision of Cultural Programmers in collaboration with Media Broadcasting Stations in Sierra Leone. The Al Azhar Al Sharif agreed on the provision of assistance in
letter dated 18 January 2023.
As a follow-up to the assistance offered, the Ambassador scheduled a meeting with the Secretary of International Students to discuss pertinent issues regarding the provision of scholarships to Sierra Leoneans. The meeting took place on October 12, 2023, at the Islamic Missions Institute for Girls and Al-Azhar Al-Sheriff University Cairo.
The two parties discussed a range of issues including the increase in the number of scholarships offered to Sierra Leoneans, the establishment of a Centre in Sierra Leone, and the provision of scholarship offers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
During the meeting, Dr. Nahla El Saidi, Advisor to the Grand Imam of AJ-Azhar, for International Students Affairs and Head of Education Development for the center welcomed Ambassador Sadiq Silla, the Sierra Leonean Ambassador to
Cairo, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and conveyed on behalf of the Grand Imam, the resounding support of Al Azhar University to Sierra Leone. She affirmed that Al-Azhar Sharif works to enhance cooperation with African countries, especially in the field of education, to promote moderation, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence. Dr. Nahla also highlighted the efforts of the Education Development Centre for Al-Azhar International Students in teaching and spreading the Arabic language among International students, in line with the global mission of Al-Azhar to promote
Islam.
Ambassador Sadiq Silla expressed his country’s interest in establishing an Al-Azhar Institute in Sierra Leone and an institute for teaching the Arabic language to non-natives, as well as increasing scholarships for their students to help them lear understanding religion. He expressed his country’s interest and contentment in establishing an Al-Azhar Institute in Sierra Leone and an institute for teaching the Arabic language to non-natives, as well as increasing scholarships for their students to help them learn Arabic and have a proper understanding of the noble Islamic religion. Ambassador Silla applauded the efforts of Al-Azhar Sharif and its Grand Imam and Dr. Ahmed El-Tayeb, in presenting the true image of the essence and tolerance of Islam to the world and the support received by Sierra Leonean students studying at Al-Azhar
