New York – Information Office – 17 September

Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani has underlined that the holding of the U.S.-Islamic World Forum at this time is particularly important because of the intensification of conflicts and political and ideological divisions that have led to instability in many regions of the world.

In a speech at the opening of the 13th Session of the Forum entitled "Crisis and Cooperation" in New York, HE the Foreign Minister said that some just causes of peoples are still unresolved despite the issuance of several UN resolutions on them, a matter which requires directing international efforts towards implementing resolutions, enforcing international legitimacy, stopping double standards in this regard, as well as spreading a culture of understanding and coexistence, despite the difference after achieving justice, even relatively, since we can not call the reality of occupation or tyranny coexistence with the other.

In this regard, HE the Foreign Minister called upon the countries of the Islamic world and the United States of America to work to deepen relations based on permanent and open dialogue and on the bases of respect and mutual understanding which must be established as principles for dealing among the States.

HE the Minister stressed that the State of Qatar is making continuous efforts to consolidate dialogue among civilizations and coexistence between different religions and cultures, where national institutions such as the Doha Center for Interfaith Dialogue, as well as the annual Doha Forum, have been established and many conferences and meetings have been held to strengthen this trend, HE the Minister added.

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani added that this Forum was established in 2002 under the name of the Doha Conference on American Relations with the Arab and Islamic World, as part of the global efforts to address the consequences of the events of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States.

In this context, HE the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in his speech at the Forum which witnessed the participation of a number of ministers and senior officials in the State, said that the previous period witnessed an increased manifestations of intolerance and misunderstanding of religion and linking it to terrorism, stressing that religions are innocent of terrorism and that extremists exist in all societies and countries and belong to different religions.

He added that there are social and economic reasons and ideological factors for the emergence of terrorism, noting in this regard that relations between the United States and the countries of the Islamic world can affect and be affected by them.

HE the Minister said that the international community needs many channels of communication and dialogue platforms such as this Forum to build bridges and strengthen cooperation between peoples and countries as well as tolerance between the followers of different religions and sects and work to address the distortion caused by the hypocrites and ignorance and extremists.

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani added that the distinguished relationship between the Islamic world and the United States of America faces a major challenge of settling the Palestinian issue and ending the conflict in the Middle East, referring in this regard to the continued failure to achieve peace because of selective policies in the implementation of international legitimacy resolutions and double standards, preferring to impose a policy of fait accompli on the principles of justice and equity to achieve short-term narrow interests.

HE the Minister expressed the hope that, under the new administration in the United States that peace would be achieved in the Middle East, praising its move in this regard to make more efforts for resumption of serious negotiations to settle the Palestinian issue and end the occupation.

Concluding his speech, HE the Foreign Minister affirmed that the State of Qatar has always reiterated its absolute rejection of all forms of fanaticism and extremism and the resulting violence and terrorism. It also called for serious contribution within the framework of international and regional efforts to combat this dangerous phenomenon, which contradicts the values of all religions and human civilizations .