DUBAI: Saudi Arabia donated $3 million to support the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) initiative, state news agency SPA reported on Saturday. UNAOC seeks to improve understanding and cooperation among nations and peoples across cultures and religions, and also aims to counter polarization and extremism. The donation was announced during a speech by Saudi Representative to the UN Abdullah bin Yahya Al-Maalami in a meeting for the UNAOC initiative at the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly. Some of the conflicts arose from increased hate speech and violent ideologies around the world, which resulted in terror attacks on holy places and deaths of innocents, Al-Maalami said. The Kingdom is one of the first countries which called for the importance of dialogue between different religions, he added. Saudi Arabia has created the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and cooperated with the activities of the UN and UNAOC, Al-Maalami said.