Clinton opens rival summit
2005-09-16 06:49
New York - Former US president Bill Clinton on Thursday gathered world leaders for his alternative to the UN world summit, sharing the same vast aims of reducing poverty and conflict.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, King Abdullah II of Jordan and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were to be the star turns at the first session of the Clinton Global Initiative on Thursday night.
While the UN summit struggles to answer the main problems facing the planet: nuclear proliferation, terrorism and the fight against poverty and disease, Clinton hopes to secure concrete commitments to counter the different scourges from his powerful guests.
About 1 000 presidents, prime ministers, kings, tycoons and humanitarian organisers have been invited to the New York hotel close to the UN headquarters where the other summit is going ahead.
The priorities of Clinton's three day gathering is the battle against poverty, conflict and global warming.
Round table discussions on topics such as relations between Islam and the West, how to finance clean energy and investment in the developing world will be addressed by presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz, tycoons George Soros and Rupert Murdoch, Gerry Adams, head of the Irish Republican party Sinn Fein, intellectuals like Nobel prize winner Elie Wiesel and Queen Rania of Jordan.
The Middle East will be the subject of a special session on Friday featuring Israeli deputy prime minister Shimon Peres, US special envoy James Wolfensohn and another former US peacebroker Dennis Ross.
Other special meetings will be held on the Sudan crisis, with a speech by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and global warming, with former US vice president Al Gore weighing in.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will speak on Saturday before Clinton announces his plan of action at the end of the conference.
Clinton has made it clear he wants "action" at the conferences, which he has committed to staging every year for the next decade alongside the UN General Assembly each September.
He wants every participant to agree to make firm commitments in an area and to go away with a list of tasks. In an interview with the British newspaper, The Independent, he warned that "those who do not fulfill their tasks will not come back the following year".
Charles Gibbs, who is representing the United Religions Initiative, a non-profit group seeking dialogue between the different religions said Clinton's conference has "potential" because of the ex-president's energy.
Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, said she was expecting at least "a good discussion". The women's activist is to speak on "religion and government".
He said his group will on Saturday outline a commitment to increase interfaith work in India, in conflict zones in Africa and in the Middle East. Gibbs hopes to find "good partners" for his work at the conference.
- SAPA