Turkish PM urges countries

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has urged countries to extend financial support to the U.N.-led Alliance of Civilizations Forum, an initiative to galvanize international action against extremism through international, intercultural and interreligious dialogue and cooperation.

“We consider Alliance of Civilizations as a most important initiative for our children and for the future. Turkey, as a founding country of the alliance, has always supported it. And now I hope you will extend support to the alliance by making generous contributions,” Erdoğan said during the partners forum for the alliance held in Istanbul.

“I am confident that the Alliance will emerge much more powerfully from this conference with generous contributions from individual countries, as well as global companies. This will be a process to completely eliminate the clash of civilizations,” Erdoğan said.

The co-chair of the forum, Spain has cut most of its financial support to the alliance due to the financial crisis it has been facing for more than a year.

Spain was represented yesterday at the meeting at a non-ministerial level by Spanish Government Secretary Gonzalo de Benito due to a crucial Cabinet meeting in Madrid.

The forum, which ends today, brings together governments, intergovernmental organizations and business foundations.