Zapatero’s ‘Alliance of Civilizations’ gains ground

16 September 2005

NEW YORK — Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero pushes his idea for an ‘Alliance of Civilizations’ at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.

Zapatero unveiled the idea a year ago before the General Assembly and has seen it gain support after being co-sponsored by Turkey and backed by the United Nations.

The project seeks to promote international understanding and cooperation, especially between the Western world and that portion in which Islam is the principal religion.

Zapatero met Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN secretary-general Kofi Annan to discuss the next steps for the initiative.

After noting the support expressed for the alliance by many countries, Zapatero said the “recipe” of emphasizing multilateralism and the United Nations was the best way to solve problems between nations.

Zapatero discussed the Spanish position at the summit, saying that Spain should be seen around the world as “a standard-bearer for peace and in the fight against hunger and poverty”.

He said the first meeting of the high-level group created by Annan to promote the Alliance of Civilizations would take place in November in Spain, with himself and his Turkish counterpart participating.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news