High-level diplomatic forum kicks off in Turkey

Julian Bechocha

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A diplomatic forum hosting many prominent leaders from a plethora of countries kicks off in Turkey's southwestern province of Antalya on Friday morning.

The second Antalya Diplomatic Forum (ADF) takes place under the theme of "Recoding Diplomacy" and is expected to bring together many "heads of state and government, ministers, policymakers, diplomats, business leaders, academics, think-tankers and representatives of the youth and media," according to the forum's website. 

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani is listed among various global leaders due to partake in the forum.

President Barzani arrived in Antalya on Friday morning to attend the forum.

Hemin Lihony, manager of Rudaw Digital, is also attending the forum.

The three-day forum is set to start at 11:30 am and will host different panels which will be live-streamed.

Addressing the cost of war, a panel under the name “Price of Peace or Cost of War” will virtually host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from 3:45 pm local time, live-streamed on the conference website. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has now passed its two-week mark, and the president will be contributing from his country under siege. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also expected to deliver a speech later in the afternoon.

The forum’s topics will include poverty, displacement, climate change, and other topics across several different panels. 

Russian and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Dmytro Kuleba met on the sidelines of the forum on Thursday in a tripartite meeting with Turkey's foreign minister in the first meeting between the two officials since Russia’s invasion.

Kuleba stated that no progress was made towards a potential ceasefire agreement, and the two opposing sides also failed to negotiate the establishment of further humanitarian corridors for the millions of Ukrainians fleeing the country.

Updated at 11:20 am