When Takeo Fukuda, the late former Japanese Prime Minister and the founder of the InterAction Council, consulted with me back in the early 1980s about his idea of creating a body of former heads of state and government to deliberate on long-term global problems, I had no hesitation in agreeing. By then we had become close friends through discussions and negotiations in various posts in our respective governments and I knew that we shared our views and concerns about the world. The InterAction Council was created in 1983. Over these three decades, about 30 former leaders met in diverse capitals and cities of all the five continents to address long-term, global issues in political/geopolitical, economic/financial and environmental/de- velopment areas. 
  But Takeo Fukuda was not satisfied with deliberations by political leaders alone. He sought dialogues between religious leaders and political leaders, since he was aware that most of global problems were human-caused. He felt that political leaders needed to learn from religious leaders representing the millennia of wisdom and traditions. I thought it was typical of him, since “heart-to-heart” communication was the essence of his political conviction. It meant to him sincerity, honesty, understanding, tolerance and acceptance of those he was dealing with, whether officially or privately. Maybe politically naïve but this was how he wished to contribute to make the world more just and peaceful. 
  The first such interfaith meeting between religious leaders and political leaders was held in Civiltà Catholica in Rome, Italy, in 1987. Leaders from Buddhism, Catholic, Hindu, Islam, Judaism, and Protestant and even atheism on the religious side, and leaders representing conservatism, social democracy, liberalism, communism, dictatorship and democracy from the political side gathered there for the first time in history.
  It was during the height of the Cold War, and conflicts involving religions were still limited. All agreed that mankind was in such a situation that the future would be very difficult, unless challenging long-term issues were squarely dealt with, and that it was essential that political leaders and religious leaders jointly cooperate to seek feasible solutions. To my astonishment, a consensus emerged even on family planning. This broad consensus deeply encouraged us to continue our interfaith dialogues. The Council itself has held over 10 such interfaith dialogues since, very fortunately under the guidance of Professor Hans Küng, former Professor at Tübingen University and the founder of the Global Ethic Foundation. Similar initiatives have sprung up all over the world since. 
  As the end of my life is approaching, and with the increasing conflicts and wars involving religions all over the world, it had been my ardent wish to participate once again in such a dialogue. I was so delighted that it was realised in March 2014 in Vienna, Austria, where the Council was born, and I was grateful that the Council turned the occasion to celebrate my 95th year. I am all the more pleased that its discourse has been compiled into a volume. 
 
The one long-term issue that occupied the mind of Takeo Fukuda and myself is the equation of population increase and finite natural resources. In the year 1900, there were 1.6 billion human beings on this globe. It quadrupled during the past 20th century and today we are more than 7 billion. The quadrupling of population within only one century had never occurred in human history. It is generally predicted that we will reach over 9 billion before the population stabilises in the mid-21st century, a majority of whom will be forced to live in cities. 
   The unprecedented magnitudes and frequencies of natural disasters in the 21st century may be its manifestation. The real question is can we really afford 9 billion people on this globe? In a world where billions will be denied the basic necessities of even food and water, how can we aspire for a more just and peaceful society? This is a very deep, taxing question in my view, on which I don’t have the answer. 
  Although no clear-cut consensus emerged from the Vienna meeting on this question, or indeed on several other questions, I heard the echo of a very important message from the religious leaders. It is that only those who themselves accept improvement through responsible and untiring struggle for a more just and peaceful world can ever hope to improve others, and that by adhering to global ethics running commonly through all the major religions, we can, in small steps, day by day, move closer to our goal. 
   The message reminded me of the Vienna born Karl Popper’s following words in his “Intellectual Autobiography”, “As with our children, so with our theories, and ultimately with all the work we do, our products become largely independent of their makers”. We may gain more knowledge from our children or our theories than we ever imparted to them. This is how we can lift ourselves out of the morass of our ignorance. 
 
 
December 2014
 
 
Helmut Schmidt Hamburg,
Germany