VALLETTA — The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary General Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf stressed the role of the GCC as a fundamental pillar for security, stability, and peace, during his participation Saturday, in the 2nd Edition of the World Forum for Culture of Peace, held in the Maltese capital Valletta.

The forum was held under the patronage of the Maltese President Dr. George Vella and organized by the Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain Cultural Foundation with the participation of several leaders, politicians, and thinkers.

Dr. Al-Hajraf praised the outcomes of the first edition of the forum, held in The Hague in 2019, which emphasized introducing the values and principles of peace in the educational curricula, working to raise a conscious generation in a safe environment of peace and respect, and inclusion of national awareness that preserves cultural heritage and spreads a culture of peace among societies.

It also promoted the values of tolerance and communication between the components of societies, developing the necessary strategies to prevent armed conflicts, and strengthening preventive diplomacy in light of the threats facing the world that undermine international security and stability.

He explained that the forum, entitled “Leadership For Just Peace”, demonstrates the GCC efforts in promoting the culture of just peace and that the Council has played a pivotal role since its inception in promoting security and stability in the region and the world, in addition to its call for dialogue as a means to resolve conflicts under the umbrella of the United Nations Charter and international law.

Dr. Al-Hajraf said: “The Council realized the importance of promoting a culture of just peace and the need to enhance the concepts of peace and collective action to achieve it.

“The GCC leaders pay great attention to preserving cultural identity, making it a cornerstone in the strategic development plans aimed at building the state and the human being, and they adopted the GCC Cultural Strategy 2020-2030.

“The strategy reiterates that cultural participation is a right for every citizen to produce, benefit, dialogue and criticize, and work towards employing the culture of dialogue with other cultures to promote the values of peace, as it is an essential component of human civilization, and to focus on the principles of tolerance, coexistence, dialogue, respect for the other and the rejection of manifestations of violence, intolerance, and extremism.”

He added: “The cultural security factor focused on promoting the values of moderation, tolerance, dialogue, coexistence and respect for the law among the various components of society, supporting freedom of thought and creativity, and protecting society, especially children, from a culture that incites violence.”

Dr. Al-Hajraf highlighted that the GCC seeks, through its participation in international forums, to build and activate strategic partnerships with countries, institutions, and international organizations to benefit from their experiences in supporting, encouraging, and establishing a culture of peace among the societies.

He noted that building a culture of peace is a common task that requires concerted international efforts and unification of ranks, confronting intellectual extremism, rejecting violence, and educating the new generation on tolerance and respect for human rights.

The Secretary-General also touched on the culture of peace and its concept, stressing that the GCC states, in their strategic and development plans and future visions, paid great attention to the integration of all segments of society in the culture of peace, especially women, who represent half of the society and the youth group, which represents the backbone of the future, and constitutes more than 60% of the categories of the society.

Dr. Al-Hajraf added that at a time when everyone hopes to promote a culture of a just peace, there are millions of displaced families and millions of children who have been deprived of education due to wars, disasters, and conflicts, and they represent easy targets for extremist ideology and terrorism.

This is in addition to the organized work through some media and some social media platforms that aim to fuel conflicts, and terrorism, as well as millions of young people in many regions around the world who have lost hope in the future and surrendered to despair and frustration, stressing that this requires everyone to promote a culture of just peace by placing these threats within the goals of collective action to give young people, wherever they are, hope for a better tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Dr. Al-Hajraf, has affirmed the priorities of the Gulf-Maltese cooperation in accordance with the memorandum of understanding signed between the two parties in 2017.

This came during his meeting with the Malta President Dr. George Vella in Valletta. During the meeting, they reviewed the relations of cooperation between the GCC and Malta, ways to support and develop them in all fields, the latest political developments in the region, and issues of common interest. — SPA