An international forum to be held in Istanbul next week will be a compelling event with high-profile participation from world leaders, while 30 foreign ministers had already confirmed their participation in the forum as of yesterday.
The Second Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) will be held on April 6-7, coinciding with US President Barack Obama’s visit to the Turkish capital, which is also expected to begin on April 6. The White House has yet to release a detailed agenda of Obama’s visit, but he is expected to participate in the forum in Istanbul on its second day after wrapping up his talks in Ankara.
Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou, whose government is not recognized by Ankara, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, with whose country Turkey has no diplomatic relations with, and Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, whose country is still at odds with Turkey over disputes concerning the Aegean Sea, are among the at least 30 foreign ministers who will participate in a high-level brainstorming meeting within the framework of the UNAOC forum in Istanbul. Among those expected to be present at the second forum is former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, whose earlier “dialogue of civilizations” initiative laid some of the groundwork for the UNAOC. Iran, along with 82 other countries, is a member of the Group of Friends of the alliance. As of yesterday afternoon, the alliance secretariat had not yet received an affirmative or negative response from Tehran for the invitation extended to Iran at the foreign ministerial level. Forbes magazine on Thursday said, “Though the alliance this week would neither confirm nor deny, it’s a good bet there will be representatives there from Iran.” Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, whose probable candidacy for the top NATO post has led to a heated debate both in his country and abroad, will also be in Istanbul to participate in the UNAOC Forum, only a few days after a NATO summit on April 3-4 when the transatlantic body is expected to announce its next chief.
Rasmussen, along with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Bulgarian Georgi Parvanov, Slovenian President Danilo Turk, has already confirmed to Ankara his participation in the forum, diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Today’s Zaman yesterday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who will participate in a trilateral summit with the presidents of Turkey and Pakistan on April 1 in Ankara, is also likely to attend the forum.
The UNAOC held its inaugural forum in early 2008 in Madrid.
Today’s Zaman