ISTANBUL - Turkish State Minister Mehmet Aydin said on Saturday that cancellation of Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and European Union (EU) Joint Forum, planned to take place in Istanbul between October 4th and 5th, was ''misfortune''.
''OIC-EU Joint Forum International Symposium'' having the theme of ''Civilization and Adjustment: Values and Functioning of Global Order'' started on Saturday.
Speaking at the opening of the symposium, Aydin said, ''second part of the forum can not take place but we will give examples of adjustment, dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation here.''
Aydin said, ''OIC-EU Joint Forum had been planned in two stages. The second stage can not take place. The first stage was among the intellectuals and the second was among foreign ministers. This was very important to provide harmonization among civilizations. This important initiative was eliminated after EU Acting President the Netherlands decided not to attend the meeting and made a call to other members in this respect. In fact, I am sorry in the name of countries which planned to attend the joint forum on high level.''
''As Turkey, we will continue to keep dialogue open among the civilizations. Our meeting here and our discussions became more important after cancellation of Foreign Ministers Forum. Here, we will give examples of harmonization, dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation,'' Aydin noted.
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