Socialist International (SI) President George Papandreou is in Istanbul to attend the second meeting of SI Special Committee on the Arab World, to be held on March 23-24.

The main theme of the meeting will be "Empowering the progressive actors to secure the success of the transitions." Upon his arrival in Istanbul, Papandreou was received by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan with whom he had a very constructive meeting, discussing developments in the Arab world, and Syria, along with issues concerning Cyprus, the continental shelf in the Aegean and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.