Istanbul hosts alliance of civilizations form

The Second Forum of Alliance of Civilizations will start today in Istanbul. The opening ceremony will start will speeches by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN Alliance of Civilizations High Representative Jorge Sampaio. Among those at the forum will be Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Greek Cypriot administration Foreign Minister Markos Kipriyanu, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, and US President Barack Obama. Erdogan will host a luncheon and President Abdullah Gul will host a banquet for the participants, and a Bosphorus tour will be offered on the last day of the forum. Brazil is set to host the third forum next year.