Buddhist, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Zoroastrian leaders were also present at the meeting, as well as international trustees of the Religions for Peace network from Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and the Middle East.
Fellow Co-President of Religions for Peace and Grand Mufti of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, HE Sheikh Shaban, said that extreme poverty was an "affront to human dignity".
"The collective reach and moral authority of religious leaders of different faiths is great, and so is our responsibility to work together to end poverty and achieve true peace," he said.
High on Monday's agenda were multi-religious efforts to advance the MDGs, binding targets adopted by the United Nations in 2000 to halve poverty and hunger by 2015, establish universal primary schooling, reduce child and maternal mortality, improve environmental sustainability, and achieve gender equality and women's empowerment.
"The injustice of extreme poverty falls most heavily on women - 70 per cent of the nearly 3 billion people living on less than $2 a day are women and girls," noted Mrs Aruna Oswal, Vice President of the World Jain Confederation and a Co-President of the Religions for Peace World Council.
"Supporting the advancement of women and girls is essential if we are to end extreme poverty and achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals."
The Religions for Peace coalition works to improve the lives of the poor, sick and vulnerable, as well as promote justice by raising awareness of legal rights.
"By advancing common action among the world's religious communities, Religions for Peace engages the moral leadership of the world's religious leaders and mobilises the vast social networks of the world's religious communities," said Dr William F Vendley, the Religions for Peace Secretary General.
"The resources of religious communities are often overlooked by governments and non-governmental organisations, but religious communities and their leaders can be powerful actors on the frontlines combating poverty and advancing development."
Religions for Peace has put together a Millennium Development Goal Toolkit for religious leaders which can be accessed at religionsforpeace.org/resources/toolkits/faith-in-action
