CAIRO — The two-day visit of Pope Francis to Cairo on April 28-29 was valuable for the Egyptian government. Tourism Minister Yehia Rashed told local press April 29 that the pope's visit at this time shows the world the real value of Egypt and would help revive tourism to the country.

On the first day of his visit, mainly aimed to consolidate interfaith dialogue, Francis met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, and Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

“We live under the sun of the one merciful God. … May the sun of a renewed fraternity in the name of God rise in this sun-drenched land, to be the dawn of a civilization of peace and encounter. … In Egypt, not only did the sun of wisdom rise, but also the variegated light of the religions shone in this land,” the pontiff said in his speech at the International Peace Conference held April 28 at Al-Azhar conference center in Cairo.

At his next stop, speaking in front of Sisi, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Minister of Defense Sodqi Sobhi, Tayeb and a number of religious figures at a conference in Al-Masah Hotel, Francis described Egypt as “Umm al-Dunya" ("Mother of the World"). He ended his speech saying “Blessed be Egypt my people,” quoting the Bible.