Dr. Reham Salama, the Executive Director of Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism (AOCE), received Mr. Eric Infante, the European Commission’s International Relations Officer, during his visit to Cairo. The meeting was also attended by Prof. Khaled Abbas, Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Translation for Boys at Al-Azhar University and Supervisor of the European Affairs Unit at the AOCE.
During the meeting, the two parties discussed many issues of mutual concern, including irregular migration, which has grown into a significant challenged for European countries, particularly in light of the rising influx of migrants entering across the Mediterranean, as well as the recurrence of drowning incidents due to the inhumane conditions they face during their journey. Hence, they stressed the crucial need to initiate outreach awareness campaigns directed at youth regarding the issues surrounding irregular migration. In addition, they discussed AOCE’s efforts in combating extremism, tracking terrorist organization’s activities globally, presenting the mechanisms for refuting extremist approaches, and demonstrating a genuine moderate approach.
In this regard, Dr. Reham Salama presented the AOCE's latest written, visual, and audio publications. At the end of the meeting, the European Commission’s International Relations Officer took a tour of AOCE to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of the operational mechanisms of its various units.