Minister of Culture and information Dr. Adel Al-Toraifi led the Kingdom's delegation to the 7th Global Forum of United Nations Alliance of Civilizations being hosted by Azerbaijan. Al-Toraifi conveyed the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to the president of Azerbaijan and the participants in the forum. The minister stressed importance of the forum, titled "Living Together In Inclusive Societies: A Challenge and A Goal". "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's participation in this important forum reflects the importance of coexistence in order to achieve growth, development and dialogue for the goodness Al-Toraifi said the Kingdom was aware of the importance of coexistence and dialogue as the best way to build communities and welfare nations, which is confirmed by the United Nations within its sustainable development goals for 2030. He stressed that Saudi Arabia has established principles of coexistence and dialogue through the establishment of King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue in 2003 with the aim of spreading the culture of dialogue and promoting coexistence in the local community, particularly through encouraging individuals and civil society organizations to participate in this dialogue. The minister of culture and information also highlighted his ministry's important role in spreading the culture of tolerance, moderation and brotherhood. The minister pointed out that the international community today is facing a serious challenge through the existence of conflicts and crises experienced by the Middle East, which led to increasing voices of extremism and terrorism at the expense of tolerance and dialogue. "Based on its belief in the international community's unity in the face of the evil forces, the Kingdom has initiated the idea of establishing King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna 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 called, at the end of 2015, for the establishment of Islamic Military Alliance to combat extremist ideology and to coordinate all efforts 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 our communities.
