Helsinki Forum set to meet in Van, eastern Turkey

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey is set to host a meeting of the Helsinki Policy Forum focusing on the Middle East and Asia in its eastern province of Van.

The forum will meet between Nov. 10-12, according to Burhan Kayaturk, a ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party deputy for Van and head of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA).

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Kayaturk said that representatives of European, African, Middle East and Gulf countries would attend the forum.

"Gulf countries’ stance against Qatar, recent developments in northern Iraq, Syria, and Iraq, and the Myanmar issue will be the primary topics covered," said Kayaturk.

Kayaturk said that the forum’s coordinators visited Van to see if it would be a good place to hold the forum.

"They looked at the hotels and the layout of the city,” he said.

“They saw that terrorism [threats] have been minimized. They were enchanted by Van, and they decided to hold the forum here."

The Helsinki Policy Forum is a dialogue process founded in 2014 to facilitate peaceful dialogue and understanding, focused on the most pressing challenges in the Middle East and North Africa region, according to the Finnish Foreign Ministry, which funds the forum.

"We want Van, which has beautiful nature, to be a destination for international platforms like Helsinki, Davos, and Copenhagen."

The Helsinki Policy Forum has previously been held in Helsinki, London and Moscow, and next year will be held in Beirut.

Set to attend the event are Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee head Taha Ozhan, and ministers and foreign delegations from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.