Saudi king to address interfaith dialogue

Riyadh: King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia will address delegates to the United Nations Interfaith Dialogue Conference in New York on Wednesday to globally promote the importance of religious tolerance.

The conference, which aims at promoting tolerance among various religions, is the direct outcome of the World Conference on Dialogue held in Madrid under the initiative of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, according to Prince Khalid Bin Saud, the undersecretary in the Foreign Ministry.

Preparatory step

While many hailed the conference, critics say it is a mere public relations stunt for the Kingdom to improve its image after 9/11 exposed the danger of radical Islam to the world.

"We hope the conference will foster peace and coexistence among the followers of different faiths," Prince Saud said earlier this week.

UN General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann has sent invitations to 192 member countries and observers to attend the conference, which it called a "useful preparatory step" toward an interfaith and intercultural meeting to be held in 2010.

King Abdullah will address the session following the UN Secretary-General's keynote speech.

Meanwhile, Prince Khalid Bin Saud also highlighted the significance of the economic summit to be held in Washington next week to tackle the global financial crisis.