Al Azhar to increase envoys to Nigeria to 75 by October 2025: Abdelatty

CAIRO – 21 July 2025: Egypt plans to increase the number of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif envoys to Nigeria to 75 by October 2025. These envoys will teach Al-Azhar curricula in various Islamic schools and institutions across Nigerian states, promoting moderate Islamic values and fostering a culture of tolerance and pluralism—an approach Egypt views as essential to combatting extremism.

This plan was declared during a meeting between Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigration Badr Abdelatty and Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Advisor of Nigeria, on July 21. 

Ambassador Tamim Khallaf, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Minister Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s full support for Nigeria’s comprehensive efforts to combat terrorism. 

He emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation in countering terrorist organizations active in the Sahel region, noting that the Lake Chad Basin constitutes a natural geographical extension of the Sahel—and, by extension, a strategic link to Egypt’s neighboring countries. This shared geography necessitates enhanced joint mechanisms to address the root causes of violence and instability in West Africa and the Sahel, both of which are directly tied to the security of Egypt and Nigeria.

The spokesperson added that the meeting also addressed key regional developments, particularly in the Sahel and West Africa, and explored avenues for supporting stability and confronting security challenges. Both sides stressed the importance of enhanced coordination to enable African nations to better respond to escalating crises and meet their peoples’ aspirations for peace and development.

In a step toward deepening bilateral cooperation, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) and Nigeria’s National Counter-Terrorism Center. 

The agreement focuses on enhancing technical, training, and research collaboration in the fields of capacity building and the transfer of Egyptian expertise in counterterrorism and combating extremist ideologies. It takes into account the integrated approach needed—security, development, and prevention—to address and eliminate the root causes of terrorism.