UN sources said enthusiasm was high among the galaxy of royalty, heads of state and religious leaders due here to attend the two-day UN special session on interfaith dialogue initiated by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, starting Wednesday. More than 54 heads of state/government, foreign ministers and senior officials have so far confirmed their participation in the UN General Assembly meeting, officially called “High-Level Meeting on Culture of Peace.” They include US President George W. Bush, British Premier Gordon Brown, Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahamd Al-Sabah, King of Bahrain Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayyed Al-Nahayan, Moroccan King Muhammad V, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abass, Jordanian King Abdullah, Pakistani President Asid Zardari, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Philippine President Gloria Arroyo. King Abdullah, accompanied by a high-level delegation including Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Chief of Intelligence Prince Muqrin Bin Abdul Aziz, Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf, and Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani arrived here Friday to take part in the historic event. General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann will open the meeting on Wednesday, to be followed by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's speech. The meeting will run along the lines of the assembly's general debate, UN spokesman Enrique Yeves said. There will be two days of speeches beginning with heads of state and followed by heads of government, foreign ministers and other participants. Bilateral meetings between leaders of participating countries will also take place, he said, adding that, so far, no decision has been made to issue a declaration at the end of the meeting. Escoto believes the initiative “should be broadened to talking not only about religions but about cultures, about all the common values we have,” Yeves said. “He would like that we talk not only about dialogue, but about joining forces in order to work together with all these common values to address the major issues that we are facing right now in the world,” he said. Ban Ki-moon has described the two-day conference as very important. “It offers a good opportunity to deepen understanding and appreciation of other religions, faiths and cultures, and all other problems, which will also create a favorable atmosphere, even for the resolution of political issues,” he said. A triumph The UN meeting is hailed as a triumph for King Abdullah, who met Pope Benedict in the Vatican last year, brought Sunni and Shi'ite clerics to Makkah in March and religious leaders to Madrid in June. This week's session, requested by Saudi Arabia, is incorporated into the UN project “Towards a culture of peace,” that was included in the General Assembly's agenda in 1997. The Assembly subsequently proclaimed the year 2000 as the International Year for the Culture of Peace, and the period 2001-2010 as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. In 2007, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which was tasked with implementing the Program of Action for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, 2001-2010, submitted its report and the General Assembly encouraged it to strengthen its push for promoting a culture of peace. It was in this context that Saudi Arabia, after the Madrid interfaith conference in July, requested the convening of a high-level interfaith meeting during the Assembly's 63rd session, under the “Culture of Peace” project. The proposal was wholeheartedly welcomed by Escoto, who said in his letter of reply that he hoped the November meeting “would serve as a useful preparatory step toward the 2010 event” – the international year of cultural rapprochement. – Okaz/ SG __
