In his address to the 63rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs said the nations of the world need to work together to combat extremists who seek to “propogate notions of intolerance, exclusion, racism and hatred.” He used the World Conference on Dialogue held in Madrid last July as a launching pad for continued talks amongst religions and political leaders about how to improve the current social condition of the world. Prince Saud said King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, started the dialogue conference because “mankind is passing through a critical phase which in spite of scientific progress (there has been) a proliferation of crime, an increase in terrorism, disintegration of the family, subversion of the minds of the young by drug abuse, exploitation of the poor by (the wealthy) and odious racist tendencies.” Therefore nations working with the UN must work together to build a global society “more conducive to the promotion of values of dialogue, tolerance and moderation.”
He urged that the ideals discussed at the Spain dialogue conference be built upon so the international community can benefit. “I call upon the General Assembly of the United Nations to convene a high-level meeting to endorse and support a continued process of dialogue among religions and peoples in conformity with the Madrid Declaration,” Prince Saud said.