July 5, 2003	Saturday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 4,1424

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NEW DELHI, July 4: Sixty nations will join a conference here next week on forging bridges between civilisations but issues such as rights abuses and the bitter dispute over Kashmir could rock the meet, officials said on Friday.

India’s Human Resources Development Minister Manohar Joshi told a press conference here that the July 9-10 ministerial conference on “dialogue among civilisation” was aimed at outlining values of democracy to improve living standards globally.

“It is our expectation that this high-level event will result in a policy statement that will provide a roadmap for future international efforts reinforcing the approach and impact dialogue can have among and within countries, cultures and religions,” he said.

Some 45 countries have decided to send ministers while another 15 have confirmed participation through senior officials to the conference, which is being held in association with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

Countries such as Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Pakistan, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Thailand would attend the meet but the United States is yet to confirm its participation, Joshi said.

Analysts and officials said the event could turn into an arena for a showdown between nuclear neighbours India and Pakistan over Kashmir and rake up issues such as the lack of democracy in at least four of the participating nations.

The military junta in Myanmar and rights abuses in China could overtake discussions, they added.

Joshi rejected suggestions of a possible faceoff at the meeting between India and Pakistan over Kashmir at the meeting.

“Dialogue is an approach to resolving issues and we will try to recognise obstacles,” said Joshi, a rightwing Hindu leader.

“The canvas is wide and the issues to be discussed cover all aspects that plague the planet’s diverse civilisations,” said an analyst who did not want to be named.

He added that it is “easy to predict” that Kashmir could lurk as an area of hot debate.—AFP