Mattarella meets head of Egypt's Al-Azhar

Italy's president Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday held a meeting at the Quirinale Palace in Rome with Ahmad Al-Tayyib, Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, Mattarella's office said in a statement.

Egypt's ambassador to Italy, Hesham Badr also attended the meeting, the statement said.

The Al-Azhar mosque and university is the highest seat of Sunni Islamic learning.