Today's Edition
ADDIS ABABA (WAM)
Sheikh Al Mahfouz bin Bayyah, Secretary-General of the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace and General Coordinator of the African Conference for the Promotion of Peace, affirmed that the United Arab Emirates is a partner in supporting African efforts to develop solutions and initiatives rooted in the realities and specificities of the continent, contributing to conflict prevention, peacebuilding and the promotion of reconciliation and social peace.
He made the remarks today at the headquarters of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, during an international meeting organised by the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers (Peacemakers Network) and hosted by the Inter-Religious Council of Ethiopia.
The meeting was attended by Khairuddin Tezera, Ethiopia's Minister of State for Peacebuilding and National Reconciliation; representatives of African Union, African countries, international organisations and religious and traditional leaders.
Al Mahfouz bin Bayyah stressed that the UAE’s vision for supporting peace in Africa is based on partnership and investment in the capacities of African institutions and religious and traditional leaders. This approach strengthens the continent’s ability to develop its own solutions and initiatives and to draw on its wisdom, experience, and religious and cultural heritage.
He noted that the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace is working with its African partners to translate the values of peace and coexistence into institutional initiatives focused on conflict prevention, reforming concepts and narratives and building trust.
He explained that this vision is embodied across the continent through the “African Conference for the Promotion of Peace,” which represents a Mauritanian-UAE partnership for Africa.
The conference works to establish African platforms for peacebuilding and to empower scholars and religious and traditional leaders to contribute to prevention and reconciliation efforts.
He said: “Our ambition is for Africa to be an active partner in shaping peace initiatives, with solutions emerging from within the continent and drawing on its wisdom, experience and religious and cultural depth, within the framework of supportive and effective international partnerships.”
He called for opening a new chapter of institutional cooperation between the African Union, the African Conference for the Promotion of Peace and the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace. Such cooperation would strengthen the role of religious and traditional leaders in conflict prevention, countering hate speech and extremism and supporting reconciliation and social peace.
He also participated yesterday in the celebration marking the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Inter-Religious Council of Ethiopia, in the presence of Taye Atske Selassie, President of the Republic of Ethiopia.
