Albares defends intercultural dialogue and tolerance for peace at the Alliance of Civilisations Forum

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, during his speech at the forum

Albares accompanied H.M. King Felipe VI to Cascais, Portugal, where the tenth Alliance of Civilisations Forum is being held this year under the title "United in Peace: Restoring Trust, Reshaping the Future. Reflecting on Two Decades of Dialogue for Humanity", with the involvement of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and High Representative Miguel Ángel de Moratinos, as well as the President of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and other foreign ministers and civil society personalities from 130 countries.

Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilisations

Minister Albares was speaking at the opening of the ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilisations, which brings together representatives of Governments, international organisations, religious leaders, politicians, civil society, foundations, academia, the private sector and young people. The aim of this meeting is to address the main issues of intercultural dialogue of the moment, and he argued that civil society must gain weight and play a decisive role.

In this sense, Albares, who spoke alongside Guterres, Moratinos and his Turkish and Portuguese counterparts, stressed that the work of foundations, associations and universities in promoting intercultural understanding and in identifying problems and solutions is fundamental, and for this reason they have a privileged role in the Alliance of Civilisations.

During his speech, he praised the Alliance of Civilisations as "an instrument for tackling the challenges presented by an increasingly intercultural, complex and interconnected world." Albares also expressed his hope that this Cascais Forum will be a valuable contribution of ideas, initiatives and projects for the future work of the Alliance of Civilisations and in favour of the common responsibility of its member countries for a Culture of Peace.

Spain, as a co-sponsor of the Alliance of Civilisations together with Türkiye, has a prominent place in the sessions of the Forum, as well as in the inauguration of the Forum together with the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres; the President of Portugal as host country, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Haka Fidan; and the High Representative of the Alliance of Civilisations, Miguel Ángel Moratinos.

Working sessions

Some of the topics covered in the sessions were: reflection on two decades of dialogue for humanity; lessons learned; prevention of hate speech, religious intolerance, anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Christianity; intergenerational dialogue for peace and sustainable development; sport for the promotion of peace and inclusiveness; the contribution of migration to peaceful societies; education for dialogue; misinformation; religious mediation for peace; intercultural dialogue and mediation. The Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilisations, composed of countries and international and regional organisations, participates in the forums.

These meetings also allowed Minister Albares to hold bilateral meetings: with the foreign ministers of Bangladesh, Iran, Morocco and with the UN Secretary General and High Representative. He also accompanied H.M. the King at the bilateral meeting with the President of Portugal.

Non official translation