Riyadh hosted the International Forum: “Strengthening Friendship and Cooperation between Nations and Peoples”, where religious, intellectual, political, parliamentary and international efforts gathered on a unified global vision towards strengthening building bridges between nations and peoples. The forum focused on the axis of supporting the national and international role of women in development and peacemaking around the world. This came with the participation of His Excellency the Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, Sheikh Dr. Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, and His Excellency the former President of the Republic of Croatia, active in the field of world peace, Mrs. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, the initiator of the conference in Riyadh.
Dr. Al-Issa: Continuing efforts to enhance friendship and cooperation between nations and peoples is an urgent necessity for the peace of our world and the harmony of its national societies
His Excellency Sheikh Al-Issa delivered a speech in which he explained the importance of this international forum on strengthening friendship and cooperation between nations and peoples, and foreseeing the role of women in this regard, especially in national societies.
His Excellency said: “We value the participation of global figures: religious, intellectual, diplomatic, parliamentary and international, which have a great contribution to building bridges and the alliance of civilizations, stressing the importance of this great role and the urgent need of the world for it.
The Secretary-General of the league stressed that the future of generations is linked, God Almighty, to the efforts of positive communication, effective dialogue and joint action with his sincere brotherly solidarity and noble goal. He said: “Continuing efforts to strengthen friendship and cooperation between nations and peoples is an urgent necessity for the peace of our world and the harmony of its diverse national societies,” and added: The further away we are from each other, the greater the negative gap, the more automatically misunderstanding and the more wicked enter the void area.” Stressing that the wicked are weak but they just win, when the good guys don’t do their roles and don’t ally themselves as they should.
He pointed out that difference and diversity are an inevitable divine destiny, and it is not possible for all people to be on the same approach, but we have to understand that and not to hinder our brothers and our human and moral love for each other, and also not hinder our cooperation.
He said: “The talk about the importance of the role of women in national societies and their international community is understood by everyone with their religious, intellectual, political and development awareness in general. He said that the problem lies in advancing awareness of this postulate through effective action on the ground, and not just talking about the importance of the role and empowerment or claiming honor and empowerment only.
His Excellency stressed that women have long suffered through human history from severe forms of abuse and marginalization, and thus national and humanitarian societies have suffered from depriving them of women’s competence and their influential role, and their success, which they have demonstrated with high efficiency at various levels.
Her Excellency Mrs. Kitarovic, former President of Croatia, an activist in the field of world peace, delivered a speech in which she expressed her happiness with the positive changes taking place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with regard to women and their effective role in society, as well as combating intolerance and extremism in general.
She said: “I am delighted to witness these historic changes here by myself in Riyadh, and I would like to congratulate you for your contribution, efforts and dedication to engaging women”. adding, “I must say that when I came to the kingdom two days ago, I came with a little misunderstanding based on Lack of knowledge because my knowledge was based on what I read in the international media, so I was not aware of the changes that have taken place in Saudi Arabia in the past years, and here I really appreciate what has been achieved,” explaining that the geopolitical shifts and recent developments in the world, once again confirm the The importance of continuing and strengthening the fruitful dialogue about the status of women in society and the value of their contribution to the political, economic, social and cultural aspects, and all other aspects of life.
It also touched upon the many complex structural problems and obstacles embedded in our societies and mindsets around the world that limit the use of women’s full potential and consequently the progress of our entire societies.
She said: “I would like to hear more direct messages that violence against women is unacceptable and together we must end violence against women and girls, change stereotypes, and continue to combat all forms of prejudice”.
She put forward some recommendations, calling for the protection of women and girls from all forms of violence, in addition to ensuring that women are treated as agents of peace and change, not just victims of violence and conflict, stressing that their active participation is pivotal in the field of development in general.
She also called for focusing on education because it is very important to all our efforts to prevent future violence, terrorism, corruption, conflict, and other major threats facing the global community today, as well as promoting women’s economic empowerment. Indirectly fighting terrorism by providing for their families and preventing husbands and children from joining insurgencies and terrorist groups, and according to research, countries with a higher proportion of women in executive and non-executive positions are more prosperous.
She called for encouraging women’s participation in civil society activities, stressing that women have a vital role in involving their societies in efforts to address conflicts and crises, as we saw during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as promoting social programs that target each individual, and that are inclusive of all.
In the conclusion of her speech, she stressed the importance of instilling values in children and youth around the world, who use new communication technologies and social media.
From his part, Mr. Zelmir Polic, President of the Episcopal Conference of Croatia and Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zadar, stressed the importance of the role of religions in building the cultures of society, stressing that there is no alternative for human beings, either they build their future together or they will not have a future.
While the High Representative of the Alliance of Civilizations at the United Nations, Miguel Angel Moratinos, stressed the importance of the issue of the role of women at the present time, and the need to work to enhance their societal and international status, and give them their important role as a major factor in resolving crises and positively contributing to building peace.
He said: “When discussing women’s rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I was acquainted with the pioneering experience, and was positively affected by the amazing statistics in terms of the percentage of women in schools and universities, and that 48% work in all fields, in addition to the huge increase in rights, such as leadership, the labor market and representation in The Consultative Council, the security services, and others.
From his part, Dr. Aziz Effendi Hasanovic, Head of the Chiefdom of the Republic of Croatia, said: “I am pleased that this forum will be held in the capital of the Kingdom, because the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the land of the Two Holy Mosques, the land of Islam and the hearth of the hearts of Muslims and the destination of their qiblah, carrying the tolerant message of Islam, which makes it the focus of world attention.”
He added: “Islam is above women’s affair, guarantees their rights, and makes them a respected and respected position in society,” stressing that there are some misconceptions about women’s issues, which are sometimes attributed to Islam without verification and sufficient knowledge of the provisions of law, and sometimes there is confusion between popular customs and traditions. Inherited and Islam’s position on women, and it is being applied with the force of Legality provisions and their enforcement, as a result of ignorance of Islam.
Amr Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and former Egyptian Foreign Minister, said: “The new Saudi proposal is about establishing a strong bond between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the concepts that express the 21st century, and that this important movement led by leaders in the Kingdom to implement those beautiful concepts will be It has a positive impact in the rest of the Islamic world.”
He explained that the conflict between civilizations is an existing problem, we do not deny its existence, and we must take clear steps to reduce it, stressing that there is a failure on the part of the Islamic side in the proper presentation of positions, foremost of which is its position on the role of women.
He called on the Muslim World League and Islamic institutions, especially Al-Azhar, to lead this march inside and outside the Islamic world regarding the role of women in education, adding, “We in the Islamic world carry the responsibility of ourselves to preserve our dignity and our logic to have a place in the world of tomorrow.”
As for Ms. Dubravka Soica, Vice-President for Democracy and Demography in the European Parliament, she said, “The European Union welcomes this timely debate, as we are going through a difficult time due to the pandemic, which has imposed great pressure on us as individuals and societies, and has deepened its social and economic consequences.”
She said: “We all agree in this discussion on the importance of the leadership role of women and their involvement in all aspects of life,” , “at the same time praising the encouraging and stimulating efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in this regard.”
By her role , the French Parliament Member, Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Amelia Lakravey affirmed that a society in which women find their place in an atmosphere of respect for diversity and representation will enjoy positive development in the field of creative and competitive development and growth, and ultimately achieve human well-being in general.
A member of the Saudi constitutive Council, Dr. Huda bint Abdul Rahman Al-Halisi, focused on her talk about women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has become focused on education and raising awareness, explaining that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program opened important horizons as it enabled women to continue their scientific career with its diversity that supports development and growth. She pointed out that this program has achieved its national goals and is still continuing its successes with more and greater results.
She said: “The economy has pushed women to change, as the one-salaried family does not achieve sufficiency in living, and Islamic law called for honoring women and preserving their rights, and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 aims for women to reach the labor market for more than 30%, and we reached that much earlier than expected, Women in the Kingdom have reached leadership positions and become partners with men in this ambitious society.”
The representative of the Equality Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the European Union, member of the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Consuls, said that the conference opened for the first time a discussion of women’s issues in such a comprehensive way by involving prominent religious leaders, political leaders, diplomats and businessmen, calling for organizing more panel discussions to encourage women to run for office for senior positions, listening to women and respecting their desires and feelings.
By his role, the veteran French diplomat and thinker at the Center for Analysis and Forecasting at the French Foreign Ministry CAPS, Professor Louis Blanc said: “The relations between Western countries and the Islamic world have suffered from various historical disagreements and mutual misunderstandings,” stressing that the merchants of the clash of civilizations exploit Western concerns about terrorism and the conditions of women in Stirring up conflict, by creating fears that are far from rational.
Meanwhile, the Director of the Investment Fund (NEOM), Mrs. Cecilia Moles-Lutorki, stressed the importance of focusing on women’s participation, providing equal opportunities in the financial sector for new investment companies, and creating a good investment environment for women to enter, as there are women who have the ability and knowledge.
She noted the importance of economic initiatives to take women into consideration, stressing that the positive transformation towards women shows us that they will contribute significantly to change towards development and prosperity.
The forum continued its discussions and proposals based on enhancing building bridges of peace and harmony between nations and peoples, respecting cultural and civilizational specificities, cooperating on their humanitarian contributions, and highlighting the legitimate role of women in national development and international contribution.
