Dr. Janne Taalas, CMI’s CEO, was in Türkiye in April for the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, an event that Ambassador Taalas says has quickly established itself as a “key node for mediation”.
The 5th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, took place from 17–19 April 2026, in Antalya.
The meeting emphasised the importance of “staying one step ahead of emerging issues” in the face of increasing unpredictability in the global landscape, with CMI a partner of this year’s forum.
The event has become a major international gathering for world leaders and senior government officials with this year’s theme focusing on managing uncertainty.
“In the face of geopolitical tensions, shifting balances of power, rising trade barriers and mounting pressure on multilateralism, the current global landscape is marked by increasing unpredictability,” write the organisers.
Emerging partnerships in international peace mediation
CMI’s CEO, Ambassador Dr. Janne Taalas (centre), moderates a panel entitled ‘Emerging partnerships in international peace mediation’ at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, 2026. Photo: Orhan Çiçek, Anadolu Agency.
With global peace mediation efforts going through a rapid transformation, a new landscape has emerged marked by new power alliances and deep uncertainties. These new partnerships offer opportunities for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, while transforming international mediation efforts.
CMI’s CEO moderated a high-level panel on how emerging partnerships are reshaping international mediation. The discussion focused on innovative models of cooperation, good practices, guiding principles and structural constraints.
The panel comprised:
🔹Rosemary A. DiCarlo – Under Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, United Nations
🔹Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi – Minister of State, State of Qatar
🔹Mehmet Kemal Bozay – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Türkiye
🔹Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim – Chief Advisor to President, Federative Republic of Brazil
🔹Massad Boulos – Chief Advisor to President, Federative Republic of Brazil
🔹Jürg Lauber – Vice President, International Committee of the Red Cross
🔹Serge Rumin – Special Representative of Chairperson in Office for the Promotion of Dialogue and Confidence Building, OSCE
Can middle powers save the rules-based world order?
Janne Taalas also participated as a panellist in a discussion on the role of middle powers in the international system. He highlighted that middle powers have an important role to play in sustaining multilateralism and the international rules-based order.
The panel examined whether middle powers can move beyond rhetoric and act as credible collective advocates for international law, multilateralism, and ethical principles of global governance, with panellists assessing the potential and limits of middle-power cooperation in reforming and sustaining a rules-based system.
Fellow panellists were:
🔹Comfort Ero – President & CEO, International Crisis Group
🔹Cemil Aydın – Academic, University of North Carolina
🔹Galip Dalay – Senior Researcher, Chatham House
🔹Wadah Khanfar – President, Al Sharq Forum
Sharing understanding of peacemaking approaches
According to Taalas, the Antalya Diplomacy Forum is quickly emerging as an important gateway to partners and new ideas, and supports CMI’s work in bringing together diverse mediation actors. CMI continues to work towards strengthening links across a broadening mediation ecosystem.
Forging a shared understanding of peacemaking approaches, methods, and challenges at both global and regional levels is a central objective of CMI’s approach, says Taalas.
