Ministerial Meeting of the countries participating in Ancient Civilizations Forum (New York, 21.09.2017)

On the margins of High-Level Week of the 72nd UN General Assembly, in New York, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Kotzias, convened on Thursday 21 September a Ministerial Meeting of the countries participating in Ancient Civilizations Forum - an initiative of the Greek Minister, held for the first time in Athens on 24 April 2017, at the joint invitation of Mr. Kotzias and his Chinese counterpart.

At the meeting, all of the participating countries reaffirmed their will to bolster dialogue and cooperation on cultural issues within the framework of the Ancient Civilizations Forum. Also discussed, were the next steps ahead of the second Ministerial Conference, which is to be held in 2018, in Bolivia.More specifically, there was an exchange of views on a range of subjects, such as the participation of new member countries, the invitation of observers, cooperation with specialised international organisations, and practical matters regarding the thematic focus and agenda of the meetings. The proposal to convene a Foreign Ministers meeting of the Forum’s member countries on a regular basis on the margins of UN General Assembly was positively appraised.