Our common mission in the Western Balkans is to create the conditions for people to live in peace and in a secure environment conducive to progress

In her keynote address, the President of the Republic stressed that concern for fellow human beings and solidarity are inextricably linked with every religion in every environment, particularly in the Western Balkans. She considered the interfaith meeting important and its timing very appropriate, given the situation in the region, including, as she noted with concern, the acute political instability, the breakdown of democracy, the mass emigration of young people and the consequences of wars. She reaffirmed her belief in the European perspective of the Western Balkans and told the gathered leaders of the Catholic, Orthodox and Lutheran Churches and the Islamic and Jewish communities from Slovenia and the Balkans that she saw the region as a place of many opportunities and that membership of the European Union was a chance for a better life for people. We can only achieve this together, she made clear.

"Interfaith dialogue means cooperation – cooperation in areas that are common to all of us – for the good of all of us," said President Pirc Musar, highlighting among common challenges the emigration of young people and climate change, as well as the dangerous rise of disinformation linked to technological progress, which has proved fatal in the Western Balkans in the past. She believes that people need to be talked to and educated. "The more there are such conversations, joint projects addressing these issues, the less intolerance there will be, and there will be a greater understanding that the way forward is peace, not conflict, and that it must be guided by the power of argument, not by the argument of power," she said. She sees the mission of religious institutions as helping people of faith to live better lives and to preserve their dignity, and she called on religious leaders to help people take decisive steps towards cooperation, mutual understanding, the elimination of divisions, the acceptance of difference and diversity as an integral part of our societies, and the understanding of an inclusive vision of the future.

The President of the Republic then met with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. They discussed the situation in the region and reaffirmed the important role that religious and political leaders play in ensuring the stability of the region and the example they set for the people through their actions. "A word is like a stone – wherever it falls, it leaves a mark," reiterated the President, stressing the importance of respectful dialogue.

President Pirc Musar then visited the "Youth for Peace" festival, featuring performances by young people from different religious communities from Slovenia and the Western Balkans.