ABU DHABI: Establishing the Ministry of Tolerance in the UAE was a clear announcement to the country and the entire world that tolerance and coexistence are part of the country's foundations and must be preserved, said Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister for Tolerance.
Both values are essential for the stability of all communities and were established by the Founding Father the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and are pillars of the ministry's work, which the UAE is presenting to the world, Shaikh Nahyan said.
Shaikh Nahyan made this statement while launching the 'International Tolerance Symposium', which was held by the ministry on the sidelines of the "National Tolerance Festival," under the theme, "On Zayed's Approach," and was attended by officials and thinkers from European, Asian, American and Arab countries, including India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, UK, Canada, Australia, Uruguay, Lebanon, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States, US.
The symposium aims to prepare a working paper that includes an international strategy for strengthening tolerance on a global level, discussing various tolerance-related issues, raising awareness, and promoting peaceful coexistence and international cooperation while rejecting violence, extremism, hatred, intolerance and discrimination, as well as creating innovative and creative solutions to spread awareness about tolerance among the world's youth.
During the launch, Shaikh Nahyan highlighted the legacy of Shaikh Zayed and his international efforts to establish the values of peaceful coexistence and respect, through meeting with influential political and religious leaders around the world to ease tensions and search for peaceful solutions that promoted coexistence and rejected violence, which are evident in the UAE's support for tolerance and coexistence between various peoples and religions, and its ongoing efforts to build a fair world without bias in terms of colour or race.
He also pointed out that the UAE is an example of tolerance and coexistence, as it hosts over 200 nationalities that live together peacefully. It has also adopted a policy of openness to the world, and has a welcoming community with basic values that are common to all religions and cultures, he said.
At the end of the symposium's second session, Shaikh Nahyan and its participants celebrated the birthday of Karen Armstrong, Founder of the Charter of Compassion.
