In a letter of thanks from the President of Singapore to His Eminence, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, the President of Singapore states:
Under your leadership, Al-Azhar is the voice of moderation and Al-Azhar Observatory in Foreign Languages plays an important role in combating terrorism
His Excellency, President of Singapore Tony Tan Keng Yam has sent a letter of thanks to The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Prof. Ahmed el-Tayyib, expressing his appreciating of the great role played by Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in promoting the moderation under the leadership of the Grand Imam.
The President said, "Thank you for meeting me during my State Visit to Egypt. I enjoyed our discussion on promoting inter-faith harmony and religious tolerance."
He added, "Under your wise leadership, Al-Azhar has continued to play a key leadership role in the Islamic world as a voice of moderation. This is particularly important for Singapore as a multi-religious and multi-racial society. I am confident that the Singaporean students who study at Al Azhar will return to serve Singapore well, both within the Muslim community and across the wider society".
Also, he expressed his appreciating of the work done by the Al-Azhar Observatory in Foreign Languages in grappling with the challenge of countering extremism and radicalization, confirming that this role is very important in our world today.
At the end, he stated, "I look forward to meeting Your Eminence when you have the opportunity to visit Singapore. Please accept my best wishes for your good health and continued success."
The President of Singapore visited Al-Azhar Al-Sharif on the October 31, 2016, as he met the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and visited Al-Azhar Observatory in Foreign Languages.