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Annan on way to Qatar for talks to smooth cultural tensions

Annan on way to Qatar for talks to smooth cultural tensions

Kofi Annan
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is on his way to Qatar, where he will convene a meeting tomorrow in the capital city of Doha to discuss the controversy over the published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

A joint press conference, at which most meeting participants will read a joint statement, will follow Saturday’s meeting. Among the scheduled participants are the Secretaries-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League, the Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Spain, Austria and Qatar, and the European Union’s High Representative for a Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.

Since the cartoon controversy began, Mr. Annan has repeatedly condemned the ensuing violence while urging a responsible use of the right of free speech.

On Sunday, the Secretary-General will attend the second meeting of the High-Level Panel of the Alliance of Civilizations, an initiative of the prime ministers of Turkey and Spain that Mr. Annan launched last July. The alliance aims to bridge the gap between Islamic and Western societies and help overcome misconceptions that could threaten world peace.

From Doha, Mr. Annan will travel to Geneva, where, on Monday, he will host a mini-summit between President El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba of Gabon and President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, in an effort to revitalize the mediation efforts related to their ongoing territorial dispute.

The Secretary-General will then head to Paris where, on Tuesday, he will deliver remarks at the Ministerial Conference Innovative Sources of Financing for Development, hosted by French President Jacques Chirac.

Later that day, he will meet with President Tassos Papadopoulos of Cyprus to review the situation in Cyprus and discuss ways to move forward the process of reuniting Cyprus.

The Secretary-General will be back at Headquarters on Thursday.