Parliament members from Asia and Europe issued a declaration in Beijing on Friday, vowing to protect cultural diversity and promote dialogue among civilizations.
· ASEP concerned about global economic problems

The declaration was issued at the closing ceremony of the fifth Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting (ASEP), which attracted more than 150 parliamentarians from ASEP partners and the European Parliament.

The declaration said ASEP parliamentarians recognized that globalization brings both growing opportunities for exchange and interaction among different cultures, civilizations and religions and development imbalances and uneven distribution of benefits.

It is urgent to strengthen the political dimension of dialogue among cultures and civilizations.

The parliamentarians reiterated their commitment to taking concerted action to promote dialogue among cultures and civilizations, advance interaction and reconciliation of different religions, ethnic groups and ideologies, strengthen regional and international cooperation, and build a world of peace and harmony.

The parliamentarians stressed in the declaration the need to respect cultural diversity, and called for understanding, tolerance, mutual respect and harmonious co-existence among various social systems, development paths and cultures.

The parliamentarians reaffirmed the positive role of dialogue among cultures and civilizations in eradicating poverty, protecting the environment and promoting sustainable economic growth and common prosperity.

They called on ASEP partners to promote good governance and the rule of law, and in the spirit of inclusiveness and dialogue, work for a world featuring harmonious co-existence, equality, mutual respect and common development of different cultures and civilizations.

The parliament members reiterated that they oppose extremism and are committed to promoting peaceful and effective solutions of conflicts, preventing and combating all forms of terrorism, and opposing the use of force in the name of religion, faith and ideology and any attempt to provoke conflicts over differences in culture, race and value in Asia, Europe and other parts of the world.

The parliamentarians emphasized the importance of education in promoting cultural exchanges and dialogue among civilizations, and called on ASEP partners to actively carry out educational cooperation and academic exchanges and provide opportunities for people to strengthen their understanding of and respect for different cultures and civilizations.

They also encouraged ASEP to redouble its efforts to develop an ambitious and concrete action plan to further exchange programs for youth and young professionals.

The parliamentarians encouraged all ASEP partners to ensure openness and freedom of the media, and emphasized the principle of objectivity and fairness in reporting.

They also called on ASEP partners to respect human rights and the fundamental freedom of all people, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language and religion.

(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2008)