On April 27 and 28, IPDAL organized the third edition of the only conference dedicated to peace diplomacy in Portugal, “Dialogues de Mafra”.

The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Defense of Portugal and Brazil, NATO’s Special Representative for Human Security, the Bishop of Bangui in the Central African Republic, and the President of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta.

For the third year running, the Holy See continued its participation in this platform for discussion on peace with a video message from the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

The theme of this year’s event was interfaith dialogue, and the initiative devoted a panel exclusively to the subject, featuring Rabbi Daniel Goldman, President of the Institute for Interfaith Dialogue in Argentina, Ambassador Arif Lalani, former Canadian representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ambassador Adelino Silva, Director of the North-South Center of the Council of Europe, and Agustín Nuñez, head of KAICIID’s Africa program.

The main challenges to world peace were also discussed, with a focus on the war in Ukraine and the tension between China and Taiwan. The President of the Parliamentary Union, Duarte Pacheco, Ban Ki Moon’s former Chief of Staff, Susana Malcorra, the Director of the Toledo Peace Center, Ambassador Emilio Cassinello, and academics such as Serge Stroobants, Hanna Shelest and Jyun-yi Lee analyzed the challenges facing these regions of the globe.

The event was also supported by Cascais City Council, KAICIID, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center and the Luso-American Development Foundation.

Photos: Mafra City Council