Archbishop Gallagher in Türkiye for Antalya Diplomacy Forum

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, travels to the Republic of Türkiye for the third edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2024.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher has traveled to Türkiye for the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2024.

The Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations will be participating Friday and Saturday in the annual event that from 1-3 March will bring together Heads of States, ministers, diplomats, business leaders, and academics, to discuss pressing global issues and challenges.

Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2024

With the theme “Advancing Diplomacy in Times of Turmoil,” the Forum is being held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and on the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye.

In its third edition, which takes place as the wars continue to cause suffering in Ukraine and the Middle East, the Forum is expected to explore peaceful paths to the global unrest, through various panel discussions, keynote speeches, and networking opportunities aimed at fostering dialogue and cooperation.

According to its website, international challenges to be discussed at the venue will include the "ongoing wars, acts of terrorism, irregular migration, rise of xenophobia and Islamophobia, unforeseen risks of AI, climate change, natural disasters, pandemics and widening socioeconomic gaps."

Archbishop Gallagher's stay in Türkiye

Yesterday, Archbishop Gallagher arrived in Türkiye, where he celebrated Holy Mass in Istanbul. Today, he is meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I.

Pope Francis made an Apostolic Visit to Türkiye, 28-30 Nov. 2014, at the start of his pontificate, where he followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Pope St. Paul VI, who had visited the Muslim-majority nation 50 years earlier.

As Paul VI had done with then-Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras in 1964, Pope Francis met with current-Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, with whom the Holy Father has maintained a friendship and a close collaboration throughout his papacy.

Deborah Castellano Lubov
Source: vaticannews.va/en