Kerala chief minister hails UAE’s tolerance

(From right in the front row) Oommen Chandy; Shaikh Abu Bakr Ahmad; M. A. Yousuffali, managing director of Emke Group; Mohammed Hajji Al Khouri; and Saed Mohammed Al Muhiri during the Shaikh Zayed Second International Peace Conference held in Kozhikode on Saturday. — Wam

The Shaikh Zayed Second International Peace Conference concluded on Saturday in the north Kerala city of Kozhikode in India under the slogan “Renaissance of the World through Peace”, which was held as part of the Sunni Markaz 37th Anniversary Conference 2014.

The conference came at a time of exceptional circumstances witnessed by the world as many countries are witnessing disorder, wars and ethnic and sectarian tensions, which require further cooperation to achieve stability and security of their communities.

The opening of the conference was attended by Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala; Sheikh Abu Bakr Ahmad, head of the Sunni Cultural Centre University; Saed Mohammed Al Muhiri, Acting Charge d’ Affaires at the UAE Embassy in New Delhi; and Mohammed Hajji Al Khouri, Director-General of the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, along with a number of ambassadors accredited to India, members of parliament and businessmen from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The one-day conference saw the attendance of more than 1,000 key political, cultural and social figures, intellectuals, academics and officials from a number of Arab and Islamic countries.

In a speech during the opening session, Al Muhiri expressed his delight at participating in the Shaikh Zayed Second International Peace Conference.

He added that the significant contributions made by the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in the fields of science, knowledge and development will be an approach and a guide to the people of the UAE.

Al Muhiri expressed his thanks and appreciation to the government and people of India and those responsible for the Sunni Cultural Centre University.

Sheikh Abu Bakr Ahmad said: “The late Shaikh Zayed was focused on the development and building of human resources and called to deepen the values of tolerance and dialogue in the face of the advocates of confrontation and conflict in the name of religion.”

He added that, “In this context, we sought through this conference to work on consolidating the thoughts of Shaikh Zayed and his permanent calls to boost world peace and coexistence between peoples of the world, noting the Indian experience in the peaceful coexistence of different religions and denominations.”

He also commended the support of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, hailing the efforts of Their Highnesses the Rulers of the emirates and expressing his appreciation for their humanitarian and charitable stances.

Chandy said he valued the atmosphere of tolerance witnessed by the UAE thanks to its leadership, a country which presented a developmental model not only in the region but in the entire world.

He said that the Shaikh Zayed conference sends an important message of peace to the world.

During the closing session, Sheikh Abu Bakr Ahmad presented commemorative shields to Al Muhiri, Al Khouri and a number of senior officials, intellectuals and scientists who participated in the conference.

• UAE