The Antalya Diplomatic Forum (ADF), which will take place from April 11-13, will focus on the need to assert diplomacy as a stabilizing force against the backdrop of global division and geopolitical conflicts. The forum will bring together high-ranking politicians, diplomats, scholars and other private individuals from around 140 countries, reports the "Hurriyet Daily News", quoted by BTA.
The fourth edition of the forum will be held under the motto "Restoring Diplomacy in a Fragmented World" under the auspices of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and hosted by the Turkish Foreign Ministry and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Erdogan and Fidan will deliver keynote speeches at the opening ceremony on April 11, when the three-day forum will kick off. They will also hold bilateral meetings with their counterparts.
"We see that the ADF is becoming a global forum. "We have sent invitations to almost all countries and representatives from over 140 countries will participate in this year's forum," Ambassador Yonca Gündüz Özçeri, one of the forum's coordinators, told reporters yesterday.
"This is very good news as it demonstrates Turkey's strong ability to unite countries around the world," she added, likening the ADF to "a small UN General Assembly."
Eighteen heads of state and government and over 60 foreign ministers have already confirmed their participation, but their number may increase next week, the publication notes. The forum will also be attended by parliamentary speakers, secretaries-general of international organizations, scholars, experts and students.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Feridun Sinirlioglu and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset are among the participants in this year's ADF.