The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, has announced that the next meeting of the Christian-Muslim dialogue process will take place in Doha, Qatar, in the first half of next year, at the kind invitation of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

The conference will bring together leading Christian and Muslim scholars in an event similar to the first meeting, Building bridges: overcoming obstacles in Christian-Muslim relations held at Lambeth Palace in January 2002. This conference was addressed by Britain's Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and by HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan in addition to Dr Carey.

Dr Carey said he was pleased that the dialogue would be held in a Muslim country next year:

"I am delighted that His Highness the Emir of Qatar has extended this generous invitation. I hoped that the work begun at Lambeth Palace earlier this year could be continued and that the conversations we started could be carried on.

"To move the discussions to a Muslim country will provide a new context as the participants share new insights and understanding about the history and development of our two great faiths and their place in the modern world."

Dr Carey has made inter-faith relations a significant aspect of his work during his time as Archbishop.