"It is a great pleasure for Semarang to host such an international event to be participated in by 15 countries on March 12-15, 2012," Nurjanah said.
He says that the theme of the regional interfaith dialog this time in Semarang is "To Strengthen Collaborative Community in Creating World Peace and Security."
Nurjanah noted that the participants of the dialog would arrive in Semarang on Sunday, March 11, 2012.
He said the first plenary session themed, "Building Joint Community: Strengthening Civilian Society in Creating Peace and Preventing Interfaith Conflict in Action", would be preceded with a visit to the office of Semarang arch bishop on Monday morning.
Then it will be followed up on Monday afternoon with the second session, themed "The Role of Education in Promoting Peace and Security."
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Michael Tene said in Jakarta on Friday that the first meeting of the regional interfaith dialog was held in Yogyakarta in 2004, followed by the second one in Cebu, the Philippines in 2006; the third in Waitangi, New Zealand, in 2007; the fourth in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2008; and the fifth in Perth, Australia in 2009.
"Thus it is a regular meeting, organized by the countries in the Asia Pacific region," Michael said.
He noted that the Regional Interfaith Dialog was initiated by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Religious Affairs Ministry to promote mutual understanding among people with different religions, cultures and tribal identities.
"The differences will be a source of wealth and capital of the community to create harmony and tolerance," he said.
He said the 6th meeting of the Regional Interfaith Dialog in Semarang was sponsored by Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, and the Philippines.
(Uu.O001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
