by Maria Spiliopoulou, Alexia Vlachou
ATHENS, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The first ministerial conference of the Ancient Civilizations Forum initiative co-launched by Greece and China ended in here on Monday with a joint declaration by participating countries to establish a new annual international platform of dialogue and cultural cooperation.
According to the declaration, ministers of the first group of countries representing major ancient civilizations which are already on board with the initiative, expressed their willingness and determination to work together and invite more states and international organizations to "optimize the use of culture as an effective tool for contemporary diplomacy."
In addition to co-organizers Greece and China, which were represented by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the inaugural forum, were participating countries Italy, Iran, Iraq, Bolivia, Egypt, Peru, India, and Mexico.
In speeches and statements made during the two-day event hosted in the Greek capital, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, foreign ministers as well as scholars who participated in a parallel academic forum here, underlined the role of intercultural dialogue in promoting understanding, friendship, peace and cooperation among nations to tackle current challenges at a time of global uncertainty and instability.
"Civilizations build communication bridges with other civilizations and do not raise walls of isolation," Pavlopoulos said addressing the Athens forum.
"It is of utmost importance that civilizations cooperate against the darkness of those wishing to plunge humanity into paranoia and hatred...We must use the treasure of the past in order to build a better tomorrow," Tsipras said in his speech.
"We are here to overcome the conflict of civilizations in order to have a new melody of cultures and dialogue," Wang said, highlighting the need to draw inspiration and wisdom from ancestors to find solutions to today's problems.
"Culture for us is soft power... We prefer dialogue to fanaticism, civilization to terrorist acts," Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said at the closing press conference.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the press briefing that the "international community needs more than ever the wisdom ancient civilizations provide."
"Dialogue, understanding, human empathy, moderation are elements to be promoted by the Ancient Civilizations Forum," added Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry.
"People's diplomacy contributes to multiculturalism and peaceful coexistence," concluded Bolivia's Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Guadalupe Palomeque de la Cruz.
Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis told Xinhua that the forum put humanity front and center.
"Ancient civilizations can help each other to have a mutual understanding, respect, and comprehension of the diversity that every culture has in order to work together in harmony for a common future of peace and stability," said Amanatidis.
Greek media reflected the warm support of Greek people for the new initiative.
"The Ancient Civilizations Forum is a very important initiative, as for the first time in a coordinated manner, we aim to utilize our cultural heritage and identity as a soft power tool... Much can be achieved under this bold plan," according to a characteristic editorial on news portal "Liberal."
"The envoys of the ten countries participating in the Ancient Civilizations Forum sent a strong message against terrorism," reported CNN Greece, pointing to remarks made during the Athens conference.
Addressing the forum, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al Jaafari warned that civilization was threatened by modern terrorism, referring to Islamist extremists' attempts to eliminate the cultural heritage of his country.
The Iraqi official called on all participants in the Ancient Civilizations Forum to intensify their efforts to safeguard culture and civilization.
"Greek ancient philosophers said 'the beginning is half of everything,' So, we had a good start and we hope that this will continue in the future as well," said Amanatidis.
The second Ancient Civilizations Forum is to be held in Bolivia in 2018.
