NUR-SULTAN – Speaker of the Senate Maulen Ashimbayev briefed Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the preparations for the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions scheduled for Sept. 14-15 in Nur-Sultan during their June 22 meeting, reported the presidential press service.
Tokayev with Ashimbayev during thee meeting. Photo credit: Akorda Press
The congress was first convened in 2003 upon the initiative of Kazakhstan’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Being an international institution for interfaith dialogue, the forum is held every three years. The seventh congress was expected to take place in the Kazakh capital in 2021, but it was postponed due to the pandemic.
This year, the high-level religious leaders will discuss the role of the world and traditional religions in the social and spiritual development of humanity in the post-pandemic period.
Approximately 153 delegations from 62 countries are expected to come together to discuss women’s contribution to the well-being and sustainable development of society, basic theological education in higher education, and combating terrorism and extremism, according to the Khabar TV channel.
In May, Pope Francis reaffirmed his participation in the event and expressed hope to meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill at the forthcoming congress in a recent interview with the Jesuit magazine La Civiltà Cattolica published on June 14.
Earlier, Acting Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha confirmed his participation in the event at the March 16 meeting with Kazakh Ambassador Kazakhstan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the Islamic Cooperation Organization Berik Aryn.
