Omar Ghobash: "Tolerance has to start at home before it can be shared abroad"

Omar Ghobash, Assistant Minister of Culture and Public Diplomacy of the United Arab Emirates, has stressed that the key to tolerance between different beliefs must begin within the borders of each country, accepting the different types of faith that each one may have in their territory. Only then will they have the capacity to be able to have a good relationship of tolerance with the rest of the countries. He did so in the webinar "Building bridges for the future: tolerance in faith". Ghobash, Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development of the Holy See, and Majid Al Suwaidi, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in Spain, participated in the event. The meeting was moderated by Televisión Española journalist Ángela Rodicio.

"No country can deal with the problems on its own, we need to support each other," said the minister, who stressed the need for collaboration between the different states, especially in these times of pandemic. For his part, Cardinal Turkson emphasised the key of education: "We are not born perfect, so education and training must be used to learn that there are different visions of life that we must respect. 

Al Suwaidi referred to the great transformation that his country is undergoing, thanks to the diversification that is taking place as a result of the great oil administration that has given them the opportunity to lead new projects in which they are pioneers in their geographical area: "The leadership of the United Arab Emirates together with the diversification it is carrying out and the attraction of young people from other countries, means that our tolerance is increasing". Omar Ghobash also made reference to this. 

The United Arab Emirates is a country with more than 200 nationalities among its population, 80% of whom are foreigners, which shows that the adaptation of people coming from abroad is very good. This is largely due to the new policies that are being implemented, and in which Emirates wants to continue demonstrating that it is at the forefront of innovation and progress. A great example is the capture of its space probe Al Amal by the gravitational influence of Mars, managing to reach a new planet in the solar system and thus fulfilling one of the dreams, not only of the country but of Arab society as a whole. 

The UAE is growing exponentially in all areas, and its leadership, as both Ambassador Al Suwaidi and Minister Ghobash pointed out during the conference, puts the Arab country at the centre of the international stage. This growth is being reflected both at home and abroad, showing a willingness to cooperate and partner with the rest of international society that seems to have only just begun.