No: 144, 11 May 2014

Turkey will host the “International Meeting on the Question of Jerusalem” to be Held on 12-13 May 2014 in Ankara within the Framework of the “International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 2014”.

H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey will inaugurate the meeting which will be organized in coordination with the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). H.E. Mr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs of Palestine, H.E. Mr. Adnan Al-Husseini, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs of Palestine, H.E. Mr. Iyad Madani, Secretary General of the OIC, H.E. Mr. Abdou Salam Diallo, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, representatives of UN Member States, notably members and observers of the Committee as well as international experts on Palestine and Jerusalem, representatives of non-governmental organizations and academicians will participate in the meeting.

We believe that the meeting will constitute an opportunity for strengthening international cooperation and solidarity aimed at finding a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine by establishing an independent and sovereign State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and for emphasizing the support given to the Palestinian people.

The fact that the meeting is held in Turkey is a concrete demonstration of the importance we attach to Jerusalem, which is the symbol of different cultures and religions living together in peace throughout history.