On 15th – 17th of June, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre hosted Oslo Forum 2010. Oslo Forum is an international conference on conflict solving and peace building.
- This is a place to exchange experiences. We gather those who are working on conflicts, including representatives both from political authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Støre said to the news agency NTB.
Støre received around 100 state leaders, politicians, NGO representatives and peace builders at Losby, outside the Norwegian capital Oslo. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was one of the guests represented at the opening of the conference.
Turkey and Norway in peace building
Both Turkey and Norway have played, and still play, the role as negotiators between conflicting groups and countries.
Norway has for instance contributed in negotiation processes at Sri Lanka, in Sudan, at the Philippines and in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Turkey, on its side, has for instance contributed as a negotiator between Syria and Israel, and Fatah and Hamas in Palestine. Turkey also engages in the peace building-process on the Balkans, a field in which cooperation with Norway currently is in the planning.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Photo: Bjørn Sigurdsøn/MFA Norway
Increasing foreign policy-activity
After a year with Davutoglu in the Foreign Minister-chair, international media and analysts describe Turkish Foreign Policy as more active than ever. In a recent article in the magazine Foreign Policy, Davutoglu outlines some of his foreign policy-principles considering conflict solving:
« Proactive and pre-emptive peace diplomacy (...) aims to take measures before crises emerge and escalate to a critical level. Turkey's regional policy is based on security for all, high-level political dialogue, economic integration and interdependence, and multicultural coexistence. Consider Turkey's mediation between Israel and Syria, a role that was not assigned to Turkey by any outside actor. Other examples of pre-emptive diplomacy include Turkey's efforts to achieve Sunni-Shiite reconciliation in Iraq, reconciliation efforts in Lebanon and Palestine, the Serbia-Bosnia reconciliation in the Balkans, dialogue between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the reconstruction of Darfur and Somalia».
Oslo Forum brings results
Oslo Forum has taken place annually since 2002, arranged by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva.
- Over the years, we have seen concrete outcome of several of the dialogues that have taken place in Oslo Forum. It has become an important arena for open debate, but also for discrete talks between the participants, Støre says to NTB.
Central topics in this year’s conference have been: the role of states in conflict solving; the peace building process in Afghanistan; the referendum in Sudan to be held in 2011; transnational militant groups; violence in elections; and peace building when the conflicting parts are fragmented.
Beside their participation in the Oslo Forum-dialogue, Davutoglu and Støre also held bilateral talks. Additionally, Davutoglu met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and the Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee.