His Excellency Mr. Karamu Gaoura, Minister of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Guinea, received His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), on Saturday, 22 Rabi’ al-Thani 1443H, corresponding to 27 November 2021G, at the Ministry’s headquarters in the capital Conakry, Republic of Guinea.

His Excellency the Minister expressed his sincere thanks to His Excellency the Secretary General for his visit to the Ministry and meeting with their Excellencies the directors general of the various departments. He also expressed his great appreciation and great pleasure for the qualitative developments and sweeping changes the Academy has witnessed since a Guinean citizen assumed the Secretariat General of the Academy, praising also the achievements and the historical milestones left by His Excellency the Secretary General during his tenure at the ministry twelve years ago, during which the ministry witnessed the largest development and the deepest change in its work since the independence of Guinea. In this regard, His Excellency noted the Ministry’s aspiration to benefit from the renowned expertise of His Excellency the Secretary General, and his distinguished relations with the outside world, especially the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in order to strengthen its relations with the ministries of Islamic and religious affairs in the member states of the OIC, and in order to advance the Ministry once again, and develop its performance, and its departments to enable it to carry out the tasks entrusted to it in spreading temperance, moderation, tolerance and coexistence among followers of different religions. Then His Excellency the Minister touched upon the Ministry’s firm desire to build a strategic partnership with the Academy, especially with regard to enabling Guinean institutions, organizations, associations, and religious centers to benefit from the outcomes of the Academy’s sessions, resolutions, recommendations, and publications, as well as the participation of Guinean scholars in the various conferences, symposia and workshops the Academy organizes.

For his part, His Excellency the Secretary General of the Academy expressed his deep thanks and great gratitude to His Excellency the Minister and his assistants for the good reception, warm welcome and the praise he heard from His Excellency, congratulating His Excellency on his appointment as Minister of Religious Affairs, noting that His Excellency the Minister deserves this precious trust due to his distinguished scientific level and long experience in the ministry, in addition to his good values and exemplary behavior, especially moderation, sincerity, patience and humility. His Excellency also expressed his heartfelt thanks to the wise leadership for the support and care that the Academy has enjoyed since its establishment to this day, noting what the country’s new leadership pledged to continue its support and care to the Academy through the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs. On the other hand, His Excellency expressed his total readiness to provide the necessary advice and the desired support to His Excellency the Minister and his assistants to achieve their aspirations for success and achievement, stressing the Academy’s keenness to build an exemplary strategic partnership with the Ministry. To achieve this, the Academy’s secretariat general is ready to sign a cooperation agreement with the ministry in the coming days in order to meet all the ministry’s aspirations for support, coordination, and communication. Then His Excellency the Secretary General concluded by inviting His Excellency the Minister to visit the headquarters of the Secretariat General of the Academy in Jeddah in the near future.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Guinea is called the Secretariat General for Religious Affairs, it reports directly to the Presidency of the Republic, and is a member of the Ministerial Council. The Republic of Guinea is the first non-Arab African country to establish a Ministry of Islamic Affairs at the end of the seventies, despite being a secular state according to the constitution.