RIYADH, 16 January — As part of a concerted drive to promote dialogue and better understanding between the United Kingdom and the Islamic world, links will be established between the British Parliament and the Saudi Shoura Council and there will be increased interaction with Islamic scholars in the Kingdom and other Arab countries.

This message came across yesterday at a press conference where four Muslim parliamentarians laid out an action plan to remove the cobwebs of misconception in the West’s relations with the Islamic world and promote inter-cultural cooperation.

The press conference was addressed by British Ambassador Sir Derek Plumbly, Khalid Mahmood, M.P., Mohammed Riaz, Ethnic Affairs Adviser to Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, Bashir Khanbhai, member of European Parliament, and Lord Patel of Blackburn.

The delegation, which arrived from Cairo, on a four-day visit to the Kingdom, represents the British government’s drive to improve its relations with the Arab countries in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. It is also intended to reassure Muslims that the events that followed were not directed against Islam.

The delegation called on Riyadh Governor Prince Salman, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Islamic Affairs Saleh Al-Sheikh and Shoura Council Chairman Abdullah ibn Jubair.

On their part, Prince Salman, Prince Saud and other senior government officials stressed the need for projecting the true image of Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance. They also referred to the hate campaign against Saudi Arabia in the Western media and hoped that the Muslim parliamentarians would dispel the wrong and misleading impression being projected about the Kingdom in the British press.

Their message to the British Muslims underlined the need for adhering to Islamic teachings and living as law-abiding citizens of their adopted country.

Describing it as an uphill task, Mahmood said the problem of cementing relations between Britain and Arab countries at the cultural level has been compounded by the fact that "links with the Arab world are not as strong as they should be. Hence the difficulty in promoting inter-cultural relations despite the flourishing trade ties."

He said the first step in this direction would be to foster relations between the British Parliament and the Shoura. Also, contacts with the Islamic scholars would be established as part of an ongoing dialogue between the two countries.

Ambassador Plumbly referred to the growing interest in Islam in the West, especially in the post-Sept. 11 period. He also spoke on the upcoming dialogue between the Archbishop of Canterbury and Muslim religious scholars of Britain.