U.S. sponsors global meet on religious tolerance

International experts will be invited to attend a conference in the United States this year on the free expression of religious beliefs, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Friday.

"Later this year, the United States intends to invite relevant experts from around the world to the first of what we hope will be a series of meetings to discuss best practices," Clinton said in Istanbul, where she was attending a Libya contact group meeting.

Clinton made her remarks at a Muslim cultural centre as part of an event organised by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on the theme of "fighting against religious intolerance".

The administration of US President Barack Obama has since 2009 insisted on religious tolerance, saying that "the freedom of an individual to practise his religion must not affect the free expression of others."