King Abdullah's initiative for dialogue between followers of religions and cultures has come up for praise here by Lebanese Premier Saad Al-Hariri and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. In a speech during a session of the UN Security Council here on Wednesday, Al-Hariri said: “Today's session is a continuation of the efforts exerted by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in the session by the General Assembly of the United Nations on dialogue among followers of religions and cultures in 2009.” In a similar speech, Ban Ki-moon also hailed the Third Civilization Alliance in Rio de Janeiro as an extension of the King Abdullah's international initiative for dialogue among followers of religions and cultures. In March 2008 King Abdullah called for a “brotherly and sincere dialogue between believers from all religions.” A conference Makkah in June 2008 urged Muslim leaders to speak with one voice with Jewish and Christian leaders. In June 2008, Saudi Arabia and Spain agreed to hold the interfaith dialogue in Spain. The historic conference finally took place in Madrid in July 2008 where religious leaders of different faiths participated.
