Al-Toraifi says tolerance a prerequisite for dialogue

Minister of Culture and Information Adel Al-Toraifi led the Kingdom’s delegation to the 7th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations being hosted by Azerbaijan in Baku.
In his speech, Al-Toraifi conveyed the greetings of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to the president of Azerbaijan and participants at the forum.
The minister stressed importance of the living together in inclusive societies. The minister pointed out that the international community is facing a serious challenge today through the existence of conflicts and crises experienced in the Middle East which has led to increasing voices of terrorism and extremism at the expense of tolerance and dialogue.
“Based on Saudi Arabia’s belief of the international community’s unity in the face of the evil forces, the Kingdom has initiated the idea of establishing the King Abdullah International Center for Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna in order to spread human values, promote tolerance and achieve peace, security and stability for the peoples of the world,” Al-Toraifi said.
“The Kingdom believes that the fight against extremism and terrorism requires concerted regional and international efforts to promote coexistence and tolerance. The Kingdom has called, at the end of 2015, for the establishment of an Islamic military alliance to combat extremist ideology and to coordinate all efforts in order to confront terrorism through coordination and intellectual, media, financial and military initiatives,” he added.
Al-Toraifi called for more cooperation to achieve coexistence and dialogue within communities. Saudi Arabia’s participation “in this important forum reflects the importance of coexistence in order to achieve growth, development and dialogue for the goodness and welfare of the peoples,” Al-Toraifi added, pointing out that any other alternative undoubtedly will lead to extremism and violence.
Al-Toraifi added that the Kingdom is aware of the importance of coexistence and dialogue as the best way to build communities and the welfare of nations which has been confirmed by the United Nations within the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.