Judge Mohamed Abdel Salam, the Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders, met with Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to explore methods for enhancing cooperation in the field of dialogue between the East and the West.

The Muslim Council of Elders' Secretary-General acknowledged the Archbishop of Canterbury's significant contributions to dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence as well as his concern for the needs of disenfranchised and the marginalised. He also lauded the success of ًWelby's joint trip to South Sudan alongside Pope Francis. Abdelsalam also noted that the coming period will see the launch of the second edition of the Emerging Peacemakers Forum in cooperation between the Muslim Council of Elders, Al-Azhar and the Church of England.

For his part, the Archbishop of Canterbury praised the efforts of the Muslim Council of Elders under the Chairmanship of His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar as well as initiatives supported by the United Arab Emirates to support interfaith dialogue and human fraternity and their impact on promoting peace and dialogue. Welby also noted the success of the recent Bahrain Dialogue Forum which was organized by the Council in cooperation with the Kingdom of Bahrain. He added that the partnership between the Church of England and the Muslim Council of Elders opens new horizons of dialogue between East and West, and encourages young people to positively contribute in their communities.