MWL, WCRL Sign Cooperation Agreement

MWL, WCRL Sign Cooperation Agreement
TT

MWL, WCRL Sign Cooperation Agreement

MWL, WCRL Sign Cooperation Agreement

The Muslim World League (MWL) has signed a cooperation agreement with the World Council of Religious Leaders (WCRL), which aims to organize an international conference at the United Nations in the presence of a number of religious, intellectual and political leaders.

Secretary-general of MWL Dr. Mohammed al-Issa signed the agreement with Secretary-general of WCRL Bawa Jain on Wednesday.

Jain said the MWL has become a global and influential entity and the world has become attentive to it.

“The coexistence theories that MWL introduces has clearly become of great interest and influence,” he said.

Jain also described the MWL as the inspiration that spreads positive energy and its call for coexistence, tolerance and peace holds incredible, beautiful and influential meanings.

In this context, Adviser for international relations at the MWL Adel al-Harbi said the step constitutes a key shift in the framework of enhancing the global programs of the MWL.

The MWL has become one of the leading cultural and religious foundations around the globe in its capacity as an umbrella of the Islamic nations and its strong and influential relations, said Harbi.

He added that MWL has represented the Islamic World at a number of global forums and presented a civilized message that has maintained Islamic identity while positively coping with modernity.

The proposed conference is expected to be attended by international figures with special emphasis on environmental peacebuilding and purifying atmospheres from all materialistic and spiritual defects, including the confrontation of the extremist and terrorist ideologies that have affected intellectual moderation contexts.

This is in addition to the healthy environment that should be provided with requirements for healthy living free of any pollutants, especially the intellectual ones that unfortunately have produced extremism and terrorism that take hold of some Muslim youth from around the world, Harbi noted.



Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
TT

Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.