Estonia accedes to Alliance of Civilizations
17.03.2008
TALLINN, Mar 16 BNS - Estonia has acceded to the Alliance of Civilizations, an organization affiliated to the United Nations taht has the aim of developing understanding and promoting cooperation across cultures and regions.
The alliance centers above all on issues connected with the Western and Islamic civilizations, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman informed BNS.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said fundamentalist forces of the Islamic world had started to reap profits from tension between cultures, endangering by their activities reform and development aspirations of the Islamic world.
"To find a way out of the vicious circle the international community should support non-violent Islamic organizations, respect religious and cultural differencs and favor dialogue between cultures, involving also media in that work," Paet saaid.
A lot of attention is paid to cooperation with non-profit organizations and other UN initiatives and organizations. The activity is carried out in projects financed from partners' voluntary contributions.
The Alliance of Civilizations was set up on the initiative of Spain and Turkey and under the auspices of the United Nations in 2005.
The stimulus to the establishment of the alliance rose from the need to study the differences and contradictions between different societies and cultures. The alliance has 71 member countries; besides there are 13 international organizations in its membership.
Tallinn newsroom, +372 610 8863, sise@bns.ee
 
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