PRESS CONFERENCE

Sarajevo, December 14th, 2009.

Press Release

Press Conference for the First Alliance of Civilizations Southeast European Conference

At a press conference following the plenary session of the First Alliance of Civilizations Southeast European Conference, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sven Alkalaj stated that the idea of the Alliance of Civilizations is to improve understanding and cooperation between different cultures and communities and that it represents a concept which opposes the clash of civilizations.

He underlined that it is very important that Sarajevo was chosen to host this gathering, considering that Sarajevo is a center of multiculturalism and different religions as well as the fact that BiH is still struggling to finally overcome the logic of ethno-national interests. He added that this gathering serves as an opportunity for the countries of the region to fortify their commitments by developing national plans for intercultural dialogue and to exchange experiences in promoting intercultural understanding.

Diego Lopez Garrido, Secretary of State for the EU in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Spain, addressed the media and stated that the countries of the region have a specific European perspective, which makes it important for them to share common values such as diversity. „We have to work on diversity and person-to-person relations, particularly among the youth,“ Garrido stated, adding that improving the state of human rights and gender equality must be a priority.

UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations Jorge Sampaio stressed that the documents adopted today show that the participating countries are dedicated to developing good-neighborly relations and regional cooperation. He also concluded that it is very important that the Alliance's first regional strategy was adopted in Sarajevo. Mr. Sampaio added that this document deals with the resolution of conflict and division and the issue of educating the youth about diversity.

Ismail Aramaz, the representative of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the Swiss referendum on prohibiting the construction of minarets was also discussed during this gathering. He explained that the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed disappointment at the outcome of the Swiss referendum, emphasizing that Turkey believes that this is a wrong that needs to be set right as soon as possible. He added that a minaret is an important religious symbol and cultural element and assessed that cooperation between countries within the Alliance is a good path towards overcoming such issues.

Spanish Secretary of State Garrido added that the decision of the Swiss people is a „symptom of their lack of integration into European society“ and announced that, during its EU Presidency, Spain will concern itself with the issue of integrating immigrants into society in keeping with the European pact on immigration and asylum.


Jose Augusto Lindgren Alves, a representative from Brazil, also addressed the members of the press. Brazil will organize the next Conference of the Alliance of Civilizations at the global level in May 2010 in Rio de Janeiro.