HM King Hamad meets Vatican Secretary of State

The Vatican, May 19 (BNA)-- His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa met today Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and discussed with him bilateral relations and ways of bolstering cooperation between Bahrain and the Vatican as well as boosting values of tolerance and co-existence between people in the world. HM the King Stressed Bahrain's keenness on being an exemplar of religious tolerance and co-existence between Islam and Christianity, pointing out Bahrain's hosting of a Conference on Dialogue between Civilisations and Cultures to promote the culture of dialogue and openness on all religions, cultures and civilisations. HM also underlined the need to lay bridges of understanding and co-existence and foster joint humanitarian values of tolerance and moderation. The Vatican Secretary of State lauded Bahrain's remarkable role in promoting religious tolerance and co-existence, expressing hope the leaders of other countries will adopt the same approach to protect religious freedom and boost tolerance and moderation. He stressed religious fanaticism as the most dangerous threat to the world, stressing the importance of tolerance and co-existence for global stability and warning against exploiting religion to achieve political agendas. HM the King commended the key role of Pope Francis in promoting inter-cultural and religious dialogue to achieve international peace and security. HM arrived earlier in Italy where he was welcomed by Head of the Vatican Protocols Monsignor José Avelino Bettencourt and members of the Bahraini embassy in France. A O Q