President Halonen to attend Alliance of Civilizations Forum in Istanbul

Office of the President of the Republic of Finland Press Release 1 April 2009

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen will participate in the second Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations in Istanbul on 6-7 April 2009. She will speak at the opening session on 6 April.

The forum will also be attended by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain, Mr Jorge Sampaio, the former President of Portugal who is serving as High Representative for the Alliance, as well as other political leaders and representatives of UN organizations and religions. US President Barack Obama may participate in the Forum as well. The Forum will be hosted by President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

The Alliance of Civilizations was established in 2005 on the initiative of the governments of Spain and Turkey. The project is supported by the UN and its goal is to promote relations and dialogue particularly between western countries and the Islamic world. President Halonen attended the first Alliance of Civilizations Forum in Madrid in January 2008.

Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors will also attend the forum.

President Halonen will travel to Istanbul from Prague, where she will take part in the EU-USA Informal Summit on 5 April.

Alliance of Civilizations