Mr. Secretary - General,
High Representative Sampaio,
Distinguished Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a privilege for me to be called upon to address this significant gathering of friends of the Alliance of Civilizations, from all corners of the world. I am pleased to see even more friends in our midst, with Canada and Kuwait the latest additions to the Group. They are all most welcome. The growing confidence in the Alliance is, I believe, a concrete proof of the will of the community of nations to achieve cooperation and concord, in place of conflict and confrontation.

I am particularly grateful to President Sampaio for his introductory intervention this morning which, together with his letter of the 21st of August 2008 setting out the agenda of our meeting today, outline the range of issues we need to consider collectively as we look to the immediate future of the Alliance over the next five years or so. Of course, his letter and his intervention contain a considerable amount of “food-for-thought” and proposals for concrete action. We will probably all need time to reflect fully on their implications and on the methodology for putting them into practice.

Touching upon the first item in the annotated draft agenda as proposed by President Sampaio, namely “exchange of views on the prospects of the Alliance over the next five years”, I am quite encouraged by the strong attendance in our meeting today which is a clear indication of our commitment to the future of the Alliance.

My country is ready to consider his preliminary thoughts regarding the work of the Alliance in the immediate future and, more specifically, the intended second Implementation Plan to cover the period from 2009 to 2011.

Turkey will be happy to pursue all opportunities outlined under the heading “Establishing conditions for sustainable peace between divided communities and societies”. Indeed, providing a catalyst and a platform for interaction between different players and stakeholders is the Alliance’s “raison d’etre”. We look forward to receiving a concrete set of projects in this area.

On the question of the “Role of religion and inter-faith dialogue initiatives”, I believe that the Alliance of Civilizations should indeed harness the possible contribution of inter-faith initiatives, by providing a “connecting forum for dialogue” between different initiatives. This would especially be the case, where such initiatives would wish to associate themselves closely with the Alliance, to create mutually beneficial synergies and to achieve a cross-fertilization of ideas.

As for the suggestion of utilizing the Alliance “as a platform to work on divisive issues”, this is naturally an area where the Alliance might usefully provide an added value and promote mutual understanding and empathy, given the broad spectrum of its membership or network of friends, so to speak. As we reflect on this potential, however, perhaps a degree of caution might serve us well. The eventual replication, within the Group of Friends, of the well-known dividing lines which underpin and sustain some of the serious political issues of our day might undermine the special message of the Alliance.

Moving on to the second item on the annotated draft agenda, Turkey welcomes the first meeting of national Focal Points to be held in Paris on the 2nd and 3rd of October 2008. We are confident that the meeting will achieve greater synergy in the preparation and implementation of National Strategies for cross-cultural dialogue. May I also add that the implementation of our own National Strategy is proceeding smoothly.

As for the third item on our agenda, it gives me great pleasure to remind my colleagues that Turkey will be hosting the Second Forum of the Alliance in Istanbul on the 2nd and 3rd of April 2009. I look forward to seeing you all at the Istanbul Forum which, I hope, will provide us all with an opportunity to listen to others, as well as an inspiring venue for the cross-fertilization of ideas on how best to manage our religious and cultural relations in the decades to come. I call upon all members of our Group, and those countries and international organizations on the outside still reflecting on the merits of the Alliance, to participate in the Istanbul Forum and to contribute to its deliberations.

Over the next few weeks or so, a Forum task force will be set up to liaise and cooperate with the Alliance Secretariat on the organization of the Forum and articulate the expectations of the Group of Friends and the wider community of nations into a workable set of agenda items and initiatives. Formal invitaions will also be issued in due course. I hope that the dates of the 2nd and 3rd April 2009 are already set aside in your diaries.

Distinguished colleagues and friends,

We consider the Alliance of Civilizations as part of our overall support for the United Nations and its institutional framework for effective multilateralism. I am confident that, with the active support of all members of the Group of Friends, the community of nations will achieve the twin objectives of enhancing the UN as a global body for multilateral action and promoting cross-cultural dialogue and understanding under the umbrella of the Alliance of Civilizations.

In this vein, the Alliance is the embodiment of the fundamental message that there are no irreconciliable differences between faiths and cultures, that identity cannot be reduced to a single core element, that the human civilization rests upon certain fundamental values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law and that faiths and cultures always co-exist peacefully, when there is no outside intervention.

With these thoughts, I would like conclude by expressing our gratitude for the kind support that the Secretary-General has always bestowed upon the Alliance. The initiative will remain at his disposal, awaiting any future tasks which the Secretary-General may wish to assign to it.

Thank you for your kind attention.