ISTANBUL (AA) - September 9, 2012 - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday separately received several Syrian religious leaders, the Mufti of Lebanon Rashid Qabbani, Iraqi Sunni and Shiite leaders, and representatives of all religions from Turkey's southern province of Hatay after they attended an international conference titled "Arab Spring and Peace in the New Middle East: Muslim and Christian Perspectives" in Istanbul.
Davutoglu and his guests discussed the situation in the Middle East, primarily the situation in Syria.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Turkish Religious Affairs Department, Mehmet Gormez hosted a dinner in honor of those dignitaries who participated in the Istanbul conference on Saturday.
Addressing his guests at the dinner, Gormez said that Muslim communities can only be stronger when non-Muslims were treated with equal rights and justice.
On the other hand, the participants of the Istanbul conference issued a final declaration at the end of the event.
In their declaration, the participants stressed that the cultures in the new Middle East must get strengthened based on equal citizenship, religious pluralism and cultural diversity.
"While state systems may be different, equal citizenship, the rule of law and protection of freedoms are the basis of a strong and vibrant civil society," the declaration underlined.
FM Davutoglu receives Lebanese delegation
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday received the Lebanese delegation who attended an international conference titled "Arab Spring and Peace in the New Middle East: Muslim and Christian Perspectives" in Istanbul.
Representatives of the Lebanese Sunnis, Shiites and various political groups met with Davutoglu in a meeting that lasted around one hour.
The meeting was closed to the press corps.
Davutoglu and the Lebanese delegation discussed the situation in the Middle East, developments in Lebanon and developments in Syria.
FM Davutoglu meets Turkmenistan's Parliament Speaker
ISTANBUL (AA) - September 9, 2012 - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with Turkmenistan's Parliament Speaker Akca Nurberdiyeva and an accompanying delegation in Istanbul's Ciragan Palace on Saturday.
Sources said that Davutoglu and Nurberdiyeva discussed bilateral relations and further developing relations between the parliaments of the two countries.
