Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah chaired on Sunday the opening session of the 11th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), hosted by Riyadh, under the theme “Two Decades of Dialogue for Humanity: Advancing a New Era of Mutual Respect and Understanding in a Multipolar World."
The forum was attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Angel Moratinos, a number of foreign ministers from different countries, political and religious leaders, heads of international organizations, and representatives of civil society.
In his address at the opening session, the Saudi Foreign Minister affirmed that the Kingdom’s hosting of the forum reflects its continued support for United Nations efforts to promote the values of dialogue, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence among civilizations and cultures.
He underscored that Saudi Vision 2030 embodies a national approach grounded in moderation and openness to other civilizations, as well as in confronting hate speech and extremism.
Prince Faisal highlighted that the convening of the 11th session of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations serves to review past efforts and to exchange views and ideas on how to manage diversity and differences by building bridges of communication and dialogue among various civilizations and religions.
Prince Faisal stressed that youth are the true embodiment of hope, stating: “They are the leaders of the future and messengers of peace. In this context, I cannot help but express my great pleasure at seeing such a large number of young people in this hall.”
“A youth forum is being held on the sidelines of this forum, and this venue will host the graduation of the eighth cohort of the Young Leaders Qualification Program of the (Salam) Project for Civilizational Communication. Accordingly, it can be said that this United Nations Alliance of Civilizations forum is a forum for youth,” he added.
The forum aims to review the achievements of two decades of global dialogue, discuss current challenges, and envision the future of joint action to enhance mutual understanding among peoples and build bridges of communication that support international peace and stability.
