Manama, May 6 (BNA)– President of the Arab Thought Forum Prince Al-Hassan bin Talal received Chief Editors of local newspapers and an elite of columnists, on the sidelines of his visit to Bahrain to take part in the Conference on Dialogue Between Civilisations and Cultures which is hosted by Manama.

He hailed the initiative of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in calling for an international inter-civilisational and cultural dialogue to convene in Bahrain, lauding the warm welcome and hospitality he received.

He underscored the need to embark on a knowledge-based strategy for the future, pointing out the repercussions of brain drain and exhaustion of human resources on the Arab Nation. He demanded anew to set up an international almsgiving fund to serve humanity, expressing hope for an Arab economic and social council to convene periodically for the sake of human dignity and institutional governance. He also warned against the danger of ethnic and sectarian differences on Arab societies at the present time.

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BNA 2103 GMT 2014/05/06