He came up with the remark in his recorded statement delivered at the annual high-level meeting of the United Nations Alliance of Civilization (UNAoC) Group of Friends on Tuesday.
Dr Momen said the world must inculcate a mindset of tolerance, a mindset of respect and love for others irrespective of religion, ethnicity, colour and race to achieve peace and harmony.
The Alliance of Civilization can be an effective ‘soft power’ to bring about changes in the mindset of people which is essential for a sustainable world of peace and stability, he said.
Dr Momen, among others, highlighted the multifaceted challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic has generated in societies.
He underscored the need for building cohesive and inclusive societies to fight the menace of mistrusts, intolerance, hate speech and xenophobia that the pandemic has given a rise to.
He maintained that Bangladesh greatly values the principles of tolerance, secularism, ethnic diversity and communal harmony, which are embedded in Bangladesh Constitution.
"Our peace-centric, tolerant state policy has indeed been shaped by the vision of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who boldly stated in his maiden speech in the UN on 25th September 1974, "Peace is an imperative for the survival of mankind.”
This vision of peace has also guided us to embrace a ‘Culture of Peace’ and encouraged us to sponsor a resolution on this theme in the UN for the last 21 years, Dr Momen said.
The Foreign Minister emphasized inclusion, forging partnership, and respecting diversity as critical in the efforts of all to build back better from the devastating fallout of the Covid-19.
He underlined the need for utilising lessons-learnt from past cries and reinforcing social cohesion and peaceful coexistence to contribute to preventing social tensions between individuals and communities in this challenging time.