Hürriyet, Turkey
March 28 2009

Danish Premier to come to Istanbul

ANKARA – Danish prime minister Rasmussen will participate in the
meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations summit in Istanbul. Turkey
objects to Rasmussen’s candidacy for next secretary-general of NATO
due to his role in the cartoon crisis of 2006, sparking anger in the
Muslim world.

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Greek Cyprus will participate in
the UN-sponsored Alliance of Civilizations summit in Istanbul on April
6 and 7, while a speech by visiting U.S. President Barack Obama is off
the table.

Foreign ministers from 30 countries, four presidents and
representatives from international organizations will be present at
the Second Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations aimed at
promoting inter-faith dialogue. The event will be at the historic
Ã?ıraÄ?an Palace.

Obama is expected to participate in some parts of the panel, but he
will not deliver a speech at the forum. The United States is not a
member of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations, a
project that was launched by the Turkish and Spanish prime ministers
in 2005 and later backed by the United Nations. It has been learned
that the U.S. policy to become a part of the group under the new Obama
administration is under review. Iran, a member of the Group of
Friends, has been invited for the summit but no response has been
given yet.

Among the participating leaders are Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, whose candidacy for
next secretary-general of NATO is still being evaluated by Turkey. It
has not been yet clarified if Afghan President Hamid Kharzai, who will
be in Ankara for another round of trilateral talks with Pakistan next
week, will attend the summit. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan
could meet with his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, on the
sidelines of the summit.

The forum will start with working breakfasts on April 6. Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, his Spanish counterpart Jose
Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and high
representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, former Portuguese
President Jorge Sampaio, will make opening remarks.

After the opening session, a photograph of the participating leaders
will be taken, and the forum will continue with he two sessions,
"Shaping the Global Agenda in Times of Crisis Ä? Why Does Good
Governance of Cultural Diversity Matter?" and "Enhancing Dialogue and
Strengthening Cooperation: Connecting Innovative Policies and
Initiatives."

In the afternoon, there will be a high-level brainstorming meeting of
the Group of Friends to be followed by simultaneous working sessions,
including the Dialogue CafÂ? Project, aimed at bringing together
ordinary people at the digital world and help them exchange
views. President Abdullah Gül will give an official dinner at
the Dolmabahçe Palace and later there will be a fashion show
"Caftans of Sultans" by designer Faruk Saraç.

On the second day of the forum, after working sessions Ä?
including one on the "Cost of Conflict in the Middle East Ä?
Babacan, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and Sampaio
will deliver closing remarks at a news conference. Before the opening
of the forum, Babacan will inaugurate an exhibition "They had faith in
Turkey" on April 5.