ABU DHABI (WAM)
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, today opened the first Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue Forum, organised by the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Austria in the UAE as part of the National Festival of Tolerance at the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi.
The opening of the forum was attended by Afraa Al Sabri, Director-General of the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence, Ambassador Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, Deputy Minister for Cultural Affairs at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, Austria; and Etienne Berchtold, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the UAE.
Abdulla Al Shehhi, Acting Executive Director of the Abrahamic Family House, said the UAE and Austria are bound by strong and long-standing relations based on the Strategic Partnership Agreement, signed in July 2021.
‘’Today’s Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue is perfectly in line with the goals set out in our Strategic Partnership Agreement and offers a very valuable contribution to peace and tolerance. It increases mutual understanding and builds bridges. Such fora for dialogue like today’s should inspire the optimists among us and further foster the ties between our two friendly nations seeking to make the world a better place," he added.
Alexander Rieger, Head of Dialogue Unit, Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, told the gathering about the Foreign Policy Instruments that Austria uses to promote intercultural and interreligious dialogue and peaceful coexistence.
Ambassador Christoph Thun-Hohenstein said that Austria has a long tradition in dialogue and sees tolerance and mutual acceptance as key components to peacefully living together.
‘’We see the intercultural and interreligious dialogue as an important contribution to enhancing our understanding of each other and deepen the quality of our cooperation,’’ he added.
The forum featured three dialogue sessions between the Emirati and Austrian sides. The first addressed the importance of tolerance and moral integration, the second discussed enhancing understanding and cooperation between religions, and the third discussed empowering youth through human-oriented digital knowledge.
Ambassador Etienne Berchtold stated that his country's participation in this important event this year comes in light of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between the UAE and Austria.
He added that since 2021, Austria and the UAE have developed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that calls for increased people-to-people exchanges, especially youth exchange. “The purpose is to foster mutual understanding between both societies, engaging in cross-cultural dialogue, and strengthening cooperation in joint cultural programmes.”
The Ambassador stated that his country has a long tradition in dialogue. “We see tolerance and mutual acceptance as key components to peacefully living together. Some of our intercultural and interreligious dialogues go back more than 30 years."
He added that over 100 years ago, in 1912, Austria was among the first countries in Europe to officially recognise Islam and grant legal status to the Islamic Religious Community.
In 2007, the Austrian Foreign Ministry decided to establish the Task Force Dialogue of Cultures and Religions. “Since then, we have been working on engaging civil society and religious leaders to cooperate on global challenges, to establish bilateral intercultural and interreligious dialogues and to promote Religious Freedom and Belief – another essential ingredient to enable peaceful coexistence in our societies," the Ambassador noted.
He went on to say, “In particular, we see the intercultural and interreligious dialogue as an important contribution to enhancing our understanding of each other and deepen the quality of our cooperation. What makes our dialogues so special, is the fact that we include both state and non-state participants, using the so-called Track 1.5 Diplomacy. ”
The Austrian Ambassador stressed that bilateral relations between the UAE and Austria are witnessing a qualitative leap by incorporating high-level religious representatives into the bilateral dialogue between the two sides in Abu Dhabi.
“Here in Abu Dhabi, it is the first time that we include high-ranking religious representatives. We wish to promote exchange between all layers of our society and use multipliers to share the insights and best practices of our dialogues with our active civil societies and strengthen our dialogue networks,” he concluded.