Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ 16 ] — INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE FOR PEACE — ay peace and God’s blessing be upon you. Your Holiness, Eminences, Excellencies, Ladies And Gentlemen — it gives me great pleasure to be participating in your meeting again. Today, I am wearing two hats — one, as a represent- ative of the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. António Guterres, who could not participate in person due to prior commitments. He asked me to convey his support for your meeting and his best wishes for successful discussions. My second hat is my capacity as High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC). I recall the first time I met with HE Faisal bin Muaam- mar, back in February 2013 during the UNAOC Fifth Global Forum, hosted by the Austrian government here in the beau- tiful city of Vienna. Faisal explained to me the mission and objectives of the newly created KAICIID. We agreed to collaborate, since we have common goals for fostering inter- religious dialogue and promoting tolerance and respect. Then I had the honour to participate in your first high level meeting in 2014 and speak about the image of the Other and the context of international and intercultural education. Today, I would like to congratulate the KAICIID Secretary General and his capable team for the progress you have made and the milestones you have achieved in the short time since the organization’s inception. The Centre has indeed established an impressive track record with events and con- sultations with religious leaders as well as thought leaders in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America. The theme of this high level meeting is certainly a timely one, placing the emphasis on interreligious dialogue as a M HE Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser Speech given on behalf of Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary General