NUR-SULTAN – More than 100 delegations from 50 countries will gather at the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, said Speaker of the Senate (an upper chamber of the Kazakh Parliament) Maulen Ashimbayev, during his Sept. 6 meeting with Kazakh President Kassym Jomart-Tokayev, reported the Akorda’s press service.
Ashimbayev on a Sept. 6 meeting with President Tokayev. Photo credit: Akorda
According to Ashimbayev who is also head of the Secretariat of the Congress, the event, scheduled for Sept. 14 – 15, is generating strong interest, especially among mass media representatives, since more than 200 foreign and 300 domestic media outlets have already received accreditation.
Tokayev emphasized the significance of the seventh Congress in today’s conditions and stressed the importance of Kazakhstan’s participation in promoting a culture of global dialogue.
Upon completion of the Congress, the parties will adopt a Declaration, a final document featuring a statement on strengthening inter-civilizational and interreligious dialogue.
On Sept. 2, during his meeting with James Varni Panetta and Thomas Richard Suozzi, the members of the U.S. Congress, Ashimbayev said that the Declaration will be adopted as an official United Nations document.
“The declaration will reflect the most pressing world problems, global conflicts, geopolitical tension, social problems, including the spread of moral and ethical values,” he said.
The Congress will address the role of leaders of the world and traditional religions in the spiritual and social development of mankind in the post-pandemic period.
It will bring together the representatives of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Shintoism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and other religions, including the Head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis, Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb, and Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem.
As part of his visit, Pope Francis will conduct an open-air holy mass for Roman Catholics and representatives of other religions and confessions on Sept. 14 at the International Exhibition Center EXPO Square.
