Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain has said, "We must empower youth, foster intergenerational dialogue and place young people at the heart of global efforts to champion respect across civilizations, cultures and beliefs."
He made these remarks while speaking at the Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Sunday, said a press release.
Recalling that peace lies at the core of the UNAOC, the Foreign Adviser highlighted Bangladesh’s role as one of the leading troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping operations.
He strongly condemned Saturday's cowardly attack on the UN peacekeeping logistics base in Sudan, which tragically claimed the lives of six Bangladeshi peacekeepers.
The adviser further underscored the need to uphold intercultural and interfaith dialogue, advance inclusive education, strengthen cultural exchanges, respond to forced displacement as well as counter hatred and intolerance fuelled by misinformation and hate speech, including through media and digital platforms.
He also reminded the international community of its responsibility to address the Rohingya crisis without delay.
In the afternoon, the Tunisian Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Nafti met the foreign adviser on the sideline of the forum.
They underlined the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture and people-to-people exchanges.
Both of them also expressed interest in collaborating closely on shared regional and global challenges.
Portuguese Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Ana Isabel Xavier also held a meeting with the foreign adviser.
Representing the host of the previous UNAOC Global Forum, the Deputy Minister shared Portugal’s perspectives on advancing the objectives of the Alliance.
Among other issues, they discussed ways to deepen cooperation between Bangladesh and Portugal within the multilateral framework.
In a separate meeting with Levent Gümrükçü, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye, key bilateral issues, including trade, defence and political cooperation were discussed.
Both the Foreign Adviser and the Deputy Minister emphasised the importance of promoting stability across regions while advancing shared strategic interests.
The two-day Forum, the 11th edition of this international gathering, was inaugurated on Sunday morning with addresses by, among others, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and UNAOC High Representative Miguel Ángel Moratinos.
The event brought together a number of high-level government officials, including Ministers, along with senior representatives from the private sector and civil society from around the world to discuss pathways toward advancing a new era of mutual respect, tolerance and understanding in an increasingly multipolar world.