The first meeting of the General Assembly of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace (GCTP) was held at the building of Lisbon Academy of Sciences in the Portuguese capital city of Lisbon.

The meeting was attended by President of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, H.E. Ahmad bin Mohammad Aljarwan, Vice President of the Portuguese Assembly of the Republic Fernando Negrao, President of Lisbon Academy of Sciences Carlos Salema, UAE Ambassador to Portugal H.H. Mousa Abdelwahed Al Khajah, and a large number of the accredited ambassadors of the states and the Vatican in Lisbon, as well as representatives of UN and international organizations, and of the UNESCO and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNACO), in addition to a number of universities and individuals working in the domains of tolerance and peace from around the world.

In a speech delivered at the opening of the meeting, Aljarwan indicated that it has been noticed recently that many states seek to achieve peace, stability and happiness for all humanity regardless of the color, gender, creed or religion, referring to the relentless efforts exerted by the international community over the past decades to prevent international and regional conflicts which have caused the death of millions of humans worldwide.

Aljarwan affirmed that building a true and sustainable peace for humanity doesn’t come through violence or the use of military force which would complicate this conflict, but the best solution comes through enhancing the culture of tolerance among peoples and nations and adopting the soft power policy which has become the focus of the attention of many states on the international level.

He noted that the GCTP General Assembly is based on lofty goals and noble values and it constitutes a very sublime value for humanity, clarifying that the participation of the members with their long and rich experience in the domain of tolerance and peace will create a general assembly which is able to overcome all the challenges facing peace in the world. He expressed hope to see valuable contributions of the members and to receive their recommendations which clear the way for the world of tolerance and peace.

H.H. Mousa Al Khajah, UAE Ambassador to Portugal, for his part, delivered a speech during the meeting through which he, as representative of the UAE, expressed pride for attending the meeting, indicating that the UAE meets with the participants through a joint vision which is based on spreading tolerance and peace across the world through continuing to host millions on its territories who are of tens of different nationalities, and this has qualified it to make tolerance a part of the culture of the country and its citizens and to maintain -similar to the Portugal- an open forum for communication and understanding among nations.

President of the Supreme Council for Imams and Islamic Affairs in Brazil Sheikh Abdulhamid Mitwali, delivered a speech in which he asserted that the road of science is the right road to spread tolerance and peace, noting that religions only call for good deeds and they forbid the evil deeds, thereby; we must differentiate between religions and the acts of humans as every human being is responsible for the results of his / her deeds. He also affirmed that way for spreading tolerance and peace comes through gaining knowledge and science.

The meeting also witnessed a number of work papers and debates which will come up with recommendations that will be reviewed by the General Assembly at the conclusion of its meeting.

At the conclusion of the meeting, President of the Luso-Arab Institute for Cooperation, Dr. Manuel Pechirra honored H.H. Ahmad bin Mohammad Aljarwan in appreciation for his international efforts for spreading tolerance and peace around the world and his attempts to spread the culture of tolerance and to face extremist and radical mentalities.