H.E. Andriy Parubiy, Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine, received H.E. Ahmed bin Mohamed Aljarwan, President of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
The meeting was attended by H.E. Salem Ahmed Salem Al Kaabi, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Ukraine. Speaker Parubiy welcomed Aljarwan and his accompanying delegation, praising the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace for its efforts to promote a culture of tolerance, combat extremism, racism and terrorism, and support peace initiatives around the world.
During the meeting, Aljarwan briefed Speaker Parubiy on the Council’s latest activities and initiatives aimed at fostering tolerance and advancing peace through soft diplomacy. He highlighted preparations for the inaugural procedural session of the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace, one of the Council’s principal bodies, scheduled to take place on 6 July 2018 in the Grand Chamber of the Parliament of Malta. The session would be held in the presence of the Speaker of the Maltese Parliament, together with a number of Speakers of national and regional parliaments, as well as prominent political and religious leaders from across the world.
Aljarwan also formally invited the Parliament of Ukraine to nominate one of its members to join the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace and to participate in its inaugural procedural session.
Speaker Parubiy expressed his strong appreciation for the role played by the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, describing it as an international platform dedicated to promoting peace, tolerance, coexistence and the rejection of extremism. He stressed that encouraging a culture of tolerance and mutual understanding among peoples is essential at a time when the world continues to face growing conflicts driven by religious, sectarian and extremist ideologies. He also underlined the importance of the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace in mobilising parliamentary diplomacy to advance the values of tolerance worldwide.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Parliament of Ukraine nominated one of its members to serve as its representative in the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace.