“Ladies and Gentlemen, It is with great pleasure that I greet the International Conference taking place here in Beirut, with the collaboration of the Parliament of the friendly country of Lebanon, the I.A.O, and the Arab Inter-parliamentary Union; And this because I firmly believe that dialogue is crucial at this time, especially on this specific topic; namely, "unity in diversity and the basic principles of freedom for Christians and Muslims in the Middle East.” Starting from the premise that man is the focus of our common effort, regardless of race or religious identity, we are all called to submit specific ideas/proposals for policies and actions. Ladies and Gentlemen, Public dialogue represents an effective tool in this effort. Dialogue is the only tool we have for mitigating differences, eliminating misunderstandings, and minimising any difficulties that may arise during the course of events and before issues become intractable. In this context, Greece, on the initiative of Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias, organised two international Conferences in Athens, in 2015 and 2017, on interfaith and intercultural dialogue for peaceful coexistence in the Middle East, and has already established an Observatory for this purpose. The Athens Conferences provided the opportunity for an exchange of views to take place between government bodies, religious leaders and civil society, and resulted in concrete proposals, thereby contributing to the formulation of the policy of the international community and religious institutions, which requires prompt and fruitful consultation among the interested parties in order to have a chance to prove successful. The international community needs to be particularly attentive and must implement a continuous and comprehensive program for combating religious extremism, while encouraging the richer states to urgently increase their support, humanitarian assistance, and refugee protection to the persecuted minorities residing within these territories, without considering their religion or faith, age, gender, or ethnic identity, and must also place particular emphasis on women and children, people with disabilities, the elderly, and persons who have been separated from their families. Ladies and Gentlemen, Our ‘identity’ has been shaped by Orthodoxy, which, in addition to faith, also represents the end result of a long cultural journey that has been forged over the course of two thousand years, since the dawn of Christianity, having been moulded through classical axiology. In this way, each meeting with similarities and differences creates joy, as it interprets our raison d’être. It is indeed with such joy that I come to meet you and welcome today’s event."
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