Sixty guests, mostly journalists, from 18 Arab countries met in Istanbul yesterday for the Istanbul Convention to promote Turkish-Arab ties.

The six-day convention is hosted by the city municipality, and participants include journalists, editor-in-chiefs of newspapers, TV station directors, TV presenters, columnists and labor union leaders.

The event aims to offer insight into the lives of more than 600,000 Arab expatriates in Istanbul, to bring the guests together with Arabic-speaking journalists and intellectuals living in Turkey and promote the city as a developing financial hub.

Visitors will have a chance to meet representatives of Istanbul's business world.