The interfaith conference that begins here tomorrow received unprecedented welcomes from the leaders of different religions across the world.

“The conference will contribute to finding solutions that are in the interest of all, especially in the Middle East,” David Rosen, chairman of the International Jewish Committee on Inter-Religious Consultations, a broad-based coalition of Jewish organizations, said.

Ali Al-Samman, head of the Interfaith Committee of the Supreme Islamic Affairs Council at Al-Azhar in Egypt, expressed his happiness at the fact that the call for dialogue comes from Muslims themselves.

Nihad Awad, chairman of the Islamic-American Relations Council in Washington, said Muslims in the West highly appreciated Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s initiative on interfaith dialogue.

“King Abdullah’s initiative for the conference receives strong support from the Muslim community because it is the true reflection of the desire of the Muslim scholars and thinkers who participated in the recent Makkah conference,” Secretary-General of the Muslim World League Abdullah Al-Turki told a press conference in Madrid yesterday.

While King Abdullah will open the conference, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will address the opening session.

Al-Turki said the MWL invited leading personalities without considering which group or country they belonged to. “Participants would not represent any political party or organization and special care was taken to select only people who view dialogue as a means to overcome the obstacles that stood in the way of the future of the humanity,” he added.

He stressed the significance of choosing Madrid as the venue for an interfaith conference.

“Madrid, with its unique heritage of cultural and religious coexistence, served as a transit point between Islamic culture and the Western world,” Al-Turki said. “At this conference, we will aim to focus on a shared world vision far removed from the religious discords and political differences, and lay the basis for the followers of various heavenly religions to initiate dialogue over matters of common concern.”

Al-Turki said the conference would be an opportunity for Muslims to highlight the Islamic vision of solving the problems faced by the humanity as a whole.

Saudi Arabia Launching A New Era Of Dialogue?

The Council of Ministers yesterday decided to extend the concession held by US oil giant Chevron in the neutral zone shared with Kuwait. It authorized Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi to sign the agreement with Chevron.

The concession, which expires in February 2009, is the last remaining oil exploration and production concession in either Saudi Arabia or Kuwait operated by a foreign firm. It covers a 5,000-square-km onshore area of the Divided Zone.

Together with Kuwait Gulf Oil Company, Chevron operates three fields: Wafra, South Umm Gudair and South Fuwaris, with a total production of some 300,000 barrels a day. A fourth field, Humma, is under long-term evaluation for potential development.

The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Crown Prince Sultan, expressed its hope that the international interfaith conference in Madrid, called by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, would usher in a new era of dialogue among religious faiths and cultures to promote world peace. The Cabinet meeting commended King Abdullah’s concern toward the “dangerous challenges” facing the world and his efforts to ward off the danger and bring nations closer by organizing such forums. King Abdullah is scheduled to open the Madrid conference tomorrow in the presence of nearly 200 delegates representing Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and other religions. The Makkah-based Muslim World League is the main organizer of the three-day event.

“The Cabinet expressed its hope that the Madrid conference would serve as a springboard for an effective dialogue among divine religions and cultures,” the Saudi Press Agency said, quoting Economy and Planning Minister and Acting Information Minister Khaled Al-Gosaibi.

The Cabinet hoped that the interfaith dialogue would help reach out to common moral and human values upheld by all religions and cultures.

It also agreed to the Kingdom’s accession to the International Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. “This convention aims at effective physical protection of nuclear material which is used for peaceful purposes... and combating crimes related to such material,” the Cabinet said, adding that it would be applied to the use, storage and transport of nuclear material on national territory.

The Cabinet ratified the new national strategy for the preservation of biological diversity in the Kingdom.

The Cabinet assigned Prince Sultan ibn Fahd, head of the Youth Welfare Presidency, to sign an agreement with Turkey for promoting cooperation in youth and sports. -- Arab News