Pope Francis starts Egypt visit (3)

(ANSA) - Cairo, April 28 - Pope Francis arrived in Cairo on Friday to kick off a two-day visit to Egypt. Francis was greeted by Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail as he got off the plane at Cairo airport.
    He was also welcomed by Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria.
    The pope then travelled to the presidential palace to meet President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
    The pope also visited the Grand Imam of al-Azhar.
    The pope and the grand imam ate set to give speeches to participants in an international peace conference.
    The Grand Imam of al-Azhar, currently Ahmed el-Tayeb, is one of Sunni Islam's most senior figures.
    "As I leave Rome to go to Egypt as a pilgrim of peace, to meet the Catholic community and believers of different faiths, it is important to me to address to you, Mr President, my respectful greetings, which I accompany with fervent wishes for the spiritual, civil, and social well-being of the Italian people, to whom I gladly send my blessing," the pope said in a telegram to Italian President Sergio Mattarella.