Türkiye's ninth Istanbul Mediation Conference opens Friday with sessions on mediation and peace, putting the country's diplomatic role and efforts to promote mediation in focus for international officials.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry says the two-day meeting will take place Oct. 23-24 under the auspices of Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Its official theme is “Partnerships and New Perspectives for Peace: Mediation in a Changing World.”
Anadolu Agency reported that ministerial-level participants and representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are expected. Turkish Foreign Ministry sources, as reported by Anadolu Agency, said the opening will include video messages from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, followed by remarks from Fidan.
The ministry says the conference began in 2012, after Türkiye and Finland launched the “Mediation for Peace” initiative at the United Nations in 2010. It describes Türkiye as the only country to co-chair Groups of Friends on Mediation at the U.N., the OSCE and the OIC simultaneously. The ministry's program lists panels on mediation experience, humanitarian work during conflicts and paths to sustainable peace, topics covered in EconoTimes' earlier conference preview.
