Luanda — The First Lady of the Republic of Angola, Ana Paula dos Santos, Sunday afternoon in Luanda, after attending the first International Forum on Expanding Women's Role in Inter-Cultural Dialogue, which was held in Azerbaijan's capital city Baku, from 10 to 11 of this month.

In her speech delivered in the forum, the First Lady considered that Angolan women constitute a nucleus of cultural values preservation and transmitting moral and civic principles which regulate the functioning of the whole society.

Therefore, she recognised that inter-cultural dialogue necessarily has to involve women.

The event which gathered over 400 delegates from Africa, America, Europe and Asia, was aimed at finding solutions to promote inter-cultural dialogue, peace and stability.

At the end of the meeting, the participants in the forum showed their concerns about the growing acts of intolerance and xenophobia on racial, ethnic, religious, and gender difference basis.

The necessity to safeguard universal values worldwide which is getting more and more connected was also underlined by the delegates who have adopted the Baku Declaration, reaffirming the continuation of the works and the compromise to meet again in 2010.

Ana Paula dos Santos participated in the referred forum with a delegation that comprised senior employees of her office and lecturers with the public Agostinho Neto University.