Lisbon, October 29, 2021, SPA -- The King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), currently based in Vienna, announced that it would move its headquarters to Lisbon, Portugal. KAICIID’s Council of Parties, comprising representatives of the Republic of Austria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Spain, the Holy See as Founding Observer, and senior officials from the Portuguese government, held diplomatic talks in the past few months that resulted in an agreement to relocate KAICIID headquarters. The Seat Agreement was signed by the Centre's Secretary-General, Faisal Bin Muaammar, and Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, on October 29, in Lisbon. With the said agreement coming into effect, Portugal will have nine international organizations, which will enhance its international profile in the intercultural and inter-religious dialogue. Faisal Bin Muaammar, Secretary-General of KAICIID, expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to the Portuguese government for hosting the Centre with its renewed pathway and valuable cooperation, and ensuring a smooth relocation to further complete its noble mandate in encouraging meaningful and responsible global and human dialogue, based on strengthening interreligious and intercultural commonalities. Bin Muaammar also highlighted that the Centre would continue its mandate in promoting the role of religious and cultural leaders and organizations to better support policy makers, enhancing the role of religious and human values for promoting common citizenship and building peace, countering all forms of hate speech and extremism. Citing the Centre’s significant impact on the global dialogue scene as a unique organization that promote interreligious and intercultural dialogue and building bridges between religious leaders and policy makers, Bin Muaammar stressed the great historical role played by the Centre since its establishment in Vienna in 2012, embracing and empowering youth. Taken together, this constitutes an added value and humanitarian approach to communication between peoples, while consolidating the values of coexistence, cooperation, human solidarity, promoting peace, and combating hate speech and extremism. On the occasion of signing the Seat Agreement that made much headway to the Centre to begin a new, fresh and active journey in global dialogue, Bin Muammar reviewed the Centre's efforts in advancing important and promising roles in promoting global dialogue by fostering the efforts of religious leaders and organizations to support policy makers, and build positive interreligious and intercultural relationships across the world, as well as establishing a wide network of religious leaders working in more than (60) countries, and training leaders and educators from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds to facilitate dialogue and communication and enhance social cohesion. Bin Muammar also commended the great contribution of the KAICIID International Fellows Programme (KIFP) in building a cohesive society and a network of (364) alumni from (67) countries representing (9) major religions from around the world. The KIFP alumni training programme resoundingly launched (375) dialogue-inspired initiatives. Incorporating dialogue into the scouts Programme, the Centre in close cooperation with the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) has created the flagship training, Dialogue for Peace (DOP) programme, for and with the help of young people, with more than 9,000 young participants. In the Arab region, the Centre launched the Social Media as a Space for Dialogue programme, which has trained more than (700) young leaders from 12 countries on using social media effectively as a space for dialogue, countering hate speech and extremism on the internet. Highlighting the Centre's efforts internationally, Bin Muammar recalled the most prominent activities launched by the Centre and in cooperation with success partners of relevant international organizations, including the Plan of Action for Religious Leaders and Actors to Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes, known as the “Fez Process”, motivated by consultations between the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, The International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID), the World Council of Churches, the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, Religions for Peace (RfP), Arigatou International and the University for Peace (UPEACE). The Plan of Action was launched by the United Nations in 2017, as a result of two years of consultations and considerable involvement from (35) UN Member States and (100) leaders from different faiths and religions around the world. At the policymaking level, Bin Muammar noted the Centre's global consultations with United Nations agencies that collaborate to foster religious freedom, protect places of worship and counter hate speech. In 2019, KAICIID contributed to the development of the plan launched by the Secretary-General of the United Nations who tasked the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) with implementing and monitoring its work. Bin Muammar emphasized the Centre role in responding to COVID-19 by streamlining its activities and programmes to mobilize the efforts of religious organizations and leaders. As a result, (210) initiatives in (50) countries were launched to address the social and economic repercussions, combatting the growing global phenomenon of hate speech, fostering social cohesion and solidarity, and lading a helping hand to the most vulnerable communities. As a culmination of the efforts made by the Center over the past years, we were honored to organize the seventh annual G20 Interfaith Forum, which was hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in October 2020. The Interfaith Forum, therefore, represented for KAICIID an opportunity to marry the two primary motives behind the Centre’s mandate: deeper dialogue between religious leaders and policy makers, and between the perspectives and practices of different global religious and cultural communities. Hosting such great interreligious gathering in the history of the Kingdom, in Riyadh - a powerful sign of the commitment of the Kingdom to interreligious dialogue. On the occasion of relocation KAICIID to Lisbon, Bin Muammar expressed his great thanks and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and His the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Prince Muhammad bin Salman, for their continuous support and follow-up to the Center and great interest in achieving its goals and aspirations. Bin Muammar also extended his sincere thanks and appreciation to His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, for the follow-up and support for the Centre, and to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees whose contribution was instrumental to the Centre’s vision and mission. He also Thanked the Council of Parties’ members the Republic of Austria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Spain, the Holy See as Founding Observer, the members of the Board of Directors from various religions Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and other followers of various religions and cultures, members of the Advisory Board, and the Center's eighty-four staff from thirty countries, and partners and friends all over the world, who have spared no effort in advancing KAICIID’S mandate. Bin Muammar concluded by expressing his great gratitude and honor for serving the global dialogue and its values since he was assigned for founding an international organization in 2010 and assuming the role of the Founding Secretary General in 2012 and ensure the sustainability of this mandate, inspired by the experience of this multilateral international organization, inspired by its noble mission to promote the principles of intercultural and interreligious dialogue. --SPA 18:42 LOCAL TIME 15:42 GMT 0009 www.spa.gov.sa/w1643323