Bahrain’s history of tolerance; peaceful co-existence hailed

New York, Oct.1 (BNA): A ceremony was held in New York, the USA, to showcase Bahrain’s longstanding history of tolerance, peaceful co-existence and religious liberties. This is Bahrain Organisation held the event in coordination with the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence, marking the Kingdom of Bahrain Declaration. The event was attended by diplomats, UN officials, religious representatives, Bahrain’s Ambassador to the USA Shaikh Abdulla bin Rashid Al-Khalifa, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary for International Affairs Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa and Bahrain’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Jamal Al-Ruwei. King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence President Dr. Shaikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa addressed the event, describing Bahrain as a model of interfaith co-existence. He said that the mission of the centre stems from the Kingdom of Bahrain Declaration, which was launched on 13th of December 2017, to serve as a global reference for dialogue between religions and peaceful coexistence. King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence Second Deputy Chairperson, Head of This is Bahrain, Betsy B Mathieson hailed the high-level forum which highlighted the role of religious leaders in achieving the 16th objective cited in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to build peace-loving societies. “The high-profile forum and exhibition translated the strategic vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa to reveal Bahrain’s decades-old heritage of tolerance and peaceful coexistence”, she said. Goodwill Ambassador Hugues Sanon addressed the ceremony, valuing the dedicated efforts exerted by HM the King of Bahrain to strengthen interfaith tolerance and peaceful coexistence. “We value and respect the King of Bahrain, who spares no effort to promote peace in the world and bolster religious liberties, tolerance and peaceful co-existence”, he said. Ambassador Sanon described Bahrain’s approach as a model to emulate, stressing the importance of promoting it in the Middle East and other parts of the world so as to put an end conflicts resulting from bigotry and extremism.