Cem: We Are Working For The Continuation Of Forum

ISTANBUL, Feb 11 (A.A) - Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said on Monday that they were working for the continuation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)-European Union (EU) Joint Forum.
During the ''Welcome Reception'' hosted at the Ciragan Palace for the representatives of OIC and EU, Cem told A.A correspondent that the Joint Forum gave ''peace messages'' to the world.
Cem said that he hoped that today's positive atmosphere would also continue in the sessions which would start on Tuesday and the meeting would serve its aim.
Asked if the Forum would be limited with only this first meeting or it would be continued, Cem said, ''the Foreign Ministry is exerting efforts for the continuation of this meeting and we will share our initiatives in time.''
Sources said that Ankara planned to prepare booklets and CD-Roms about the statements and speeches made during the Forum and distribute them to the participants.
The sources noted that Turkey aimed to turn the Forum into a formation which could be called for a meeting by a certain country when needed rather than a regular organization.
Diplomatic sources said that thus, the enterpreneurs who could not make their voice be heard in international platforms like EUROMED and Mediterranean Forum so far could be revived this way.
The representatives who attended the reception told A.A correspondents that Turkey was marking a significant success by organization this forum which brought together OIC and EU representatives.
EU Joint Defense and Foreign Policy High Commissioner Javier Solana pointed out that the representatives of OIC and EU would meet ''for the first time'' at this forum in Istanbul.
Solana said that there were many things that they would share and clarify and noted that they wanted to make the world a better place to live.
Javier Solana drew the attention that politics was not only the issue that would be debated at the forum and said that discussion of cultures and issues among civilizations was very important.
Solana stated that they would debate how could they know about each other better and how they could turn the world into a better place with dialogue.
Asked if he would have an initiative to overcome the difference in points of views of Turkey and Greece regarding the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), Solana said that he was always ready for such a mission.
When asked if he was expecting a result to come out of the summit related with the Middle East peace process, Solana said that a decision related with the process would not be taken at the forum but that some discussions on the resumption of the process would be made.
Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdus Sattar said that Turkey, which had hosted a number of civilizations throughout the history, was the most suitable place for such a meeting.
Sattar congratulated Turkey for taking a decision to host that meeting and expressed happiness to represent Pakistan at the forum.
Hoping that understanding and peaceful atmosphere would prevail among the civilizations at the end of the sessions to be held within the scope of the forum, Sattar said that they had not needed peace this much since the World War II.
To this end, Sattar said, organization of such a meeting that brought together OIC and EU countries was a very wise decision.
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamal Kharrazi said that the forum was important for the prevention of conflicts among the civilizations.
Asked if he welcomed a reference to Middle East dispute at a joint declaration to be released following the forum, Kharrazi said that there were many issues to be debated at the meeting.
Kharrazi noted that Palestinian dispute was currently the biggest problem of the Islam world.
So, Kharrazi said, it would be beneficial to take up that issue in every occassion. Because, he noted, they were experiencing a problem and the violation of rights of Palestinian people every day.
Kharrazi stated that the joint declaration would become certain at the end of the negotiations among the sides.
Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Farouk al-Shara said that the forum was of utmost importance because it was being held in Istanbul, a city where the Islam and European civilizations met.
Abd Al-Rahman Shalgam, the Libyan Secretary of the General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation, said that some regional issues could come to the agenda during the sessions which would begin on Tuesday. However, Shalgam said, the main target was searching the ways of compromise among the civilizations in a more general frame.
Shalgam noted that to this end, he could not expect a decision to come out of the forum related with a certain issue like the Palestinian dispute.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said that he expected some constructive views to come out of the forum and some positive discussions to be made at the sessions.
Upon questions regarding Iraq, Moussa noted that they convened to debate civilizations, cultures and harmony.
Moussa noted that he supported the establishment of dialogue regarding Iraq.
Asked if he expected some concrete results at the end of the meeting, Moussa said, ''why not?'' Moussa noted that it was not possible to solve the problems at a meeting but that it was obvious that they needed such initiatives. He thought that meeting was a very big step, Moussa said.
Omani Minister of Foreign Affairs Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah said that he preferred to make a statement after the forum rather than before the meeting.
Abdullah noted that he hoped that the forum would help development of understanding between the West and the East.
Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliyev drew the attention to the importance of OIC-EU Joint Forum and said that the meeting of foreign ministers of OIC and EU countries would create the atmosphere of compromise, mutual confidence and peace in the world.
Quliyev stressed that Turkey was not only a country which had an important position in OIC but also a country which was an EU candidate.
It was Turkey's responsibility within this framework to bring both organizations together, Quliyev said.
Quliyev noted that Turkey was a country which united the West and the East and two cultures and expressed belief that the meeting which was brought to the agenda following the September 11th terrorist attacks could prevent the publishing and broadcasting of news about the Islam world that were not accurate.