The 2nd International Conference on Religious and Cultural Pluralism and Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East is being held in Athens on 30 and 31 October 2017. It is a major international event, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at a time when the situation in the Middle East remains volatile.

The first International Conference took place in October 2015 on the initiative of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Kotzias. With the need for tolerance and peaceful coexistence remaining of immediate pressing concern � as violence, intolerance, religious fanaticism and radicalization continue to afflict a large portion of the Middle East � the second International Conference, two years later, aspires to move ahead to the strengthening of a dialogue framework that promotes rapprochement, networking, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence among the different religious and cultural communities of the region.

The President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious leaders will honour the International Conference with their presence.

The event is being supported by the Centre for Religious Pluralism in the Middle East (CRPME), founded following the first Conference and functioning as an institution that monitors developments, reports on problems related to issues of religious and cultural pluralism, and presents specific proposals to deal with these problems.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic