Participants from around the world stressed the importance of dialogue and people-to-people exchange in fostering trust among nations at the Global Civilizations Dialogue Ministerial Meeting, which commenced in Beijing on Thursday.
Themed "Safeguarding Diversity of Human Civilizations for World Peace and Development," the two-day event has attracted over 600 guests from 140 countries and regions.
Amidst global turbulence and uncertainty, participants engaged in in-depth discussions on the importance of civilization dialogue, cultural diversity, and international cooperation.
"The dialogue of civilizations is very important in order to bring harmony to the international relations. I was really impressed by the number of persons be here and the number of countries they represent, and also all of them coming of many different civilizations. These are clear proof that dialogue works and we can have a common shared future working all together," said former Greek Foreign Minister George Katrougalos.
"Communicate the history and communicate the culture, communicate the identity that bring them together. Without discussion, without such a dialogue, without such a conference, people will be apart from each other," said Salim AlMalik, director-general of the Islamic World Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Participants expressed strong support for the Global Civilization Initiative and advocated for regular people-to-people exchanges to enhance understanding.
"And you cannot have peace without trust, without understanding, without people-to-people exchange. And that's what Global Civilization Initiative does. It is, as I always say, it is the base of a pyramid. It is a base. Through this initiative, we can achieve peace, we can achieve development, and we can achieve prosperity," said former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.
"I think the most important thing is that we have regular ordinary people-to-people exchange and a chance for the Chinese people and the American people to make friends. With that, then you have the chance to build a shared humanity," said Elyn MacInnis, founder of "Friends of Kuliang," a group gathering descendants of U.S. families who once lived in Kuliang of China's Fujian Province.
The event is hosted by the Publicity Department and the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.
Guests stress exchange among civilizations at conference in Beijing
