Speaking at the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Pope Francis said that the leaders of Abrahamic and traditional religions have a historic role in the current world, pointing to the necessity of efforts of spiritual leaders to deal with extremism, violence, and terrorism.

"Throughout the history of the region, which has been full of ups and downs, the Persian Gulf, this civilization-making span of water, has constantly been named the Persian Gulf or called by its equivalents in all foreign languages," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.