Today, on May 20 of this year, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, at the site of N. Nazarbayev Center for Development of Interfaith and Inter-civilization Dialogue, a meaningful discussion of leading experts, representatives of Kazakhstani and international research organizations of Central Asian countries was held at the online conference «Neighborliness of Cultures in the XXI century of Central Asian countries».
The focus of the conference participants is the promotion of the global initiatives of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Elbasy N. Nazarbayev and the Kazakh model of interreligious harmony in the world arena, consolidation of efforts to bring cultures closer together, as well as further deepening of regional cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere of Central Asian countries.
The event was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan B. Bakirov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kyrgyzstan to the Republic of Kazakhstan Zh. Kulubaev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan to the Republic of Kazakhstan B. Rejepov, Deputy Minister of Culture of Turkmenistan N. Shirimov, Deputy Minister of Hajj and Religion Afghanistan M. Osman Tarik, Deputy Director of the Center for Islamic Civilization under the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan F. Halimov, Head of the UN Department of Global Communications V. Samek, Vice-Rector of the Turkmen State University D. Annayev, Director of the Scientific Research Institute of Culture and Information of Tajikistan D. Rakhimi, Director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies of Kyrgyzstan U.Akhmetov, acting Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Central Asia K. Tovmasyan, Deputy Director of the Scientific Research Institute of Culture and Information of Tajikistan Sh.Komilzoda, Head of the Department of the Center for Islamic Civilization of Uzbekistan S.Kholkhodzhaev, acting Vice-rector for social development of KazNU A. Masalimova, head of the Department of religious studies and cultural studies of KazNU A. Kurmanalieva.
Giving thanks to the guests for their participation in the international forum, the Chairman of the Board of N. Nazarbayev Center Bulat Sarsenbayev expressed concern over the armed clash on the state border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, citing the words of the President of Kazakhstan K. Tokayev that the Kyrgyz and Tajik peoples are fraternal for us with a common history and cultural values.
In particular, in his welcoming speech, B. Sarsenbayev outlined the significant role of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in strengthening religious tolerance and inter-civilization dialogue, and also stressed that today the conference participants are faced with the main task – a common desire to turn Central Asia into a prosperous region with preservation of cultural heritage.
«Dialogue is the most reliable way to strengthen the atmosphere of friendship, mutual understanding and stability in the region. Whereas the rapprochement of cultures and peoples is possible by combining the efforts of our countries on the basis of the principle of common interest», - said the Head of N. Nazarbayev Center.
Supporting the key messages of Bulat Sarsenbayev's speech, international experts focused on the outstanding contribution of Elbasy N. Nazarbayev and the exceptional role of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan K. Tokayev in creating an effective model of peace and harmony between different confessions, promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue at the global level within the framework of the Congress leaders of world and traditional religions.
In addition, the forum participants confirmed that in the progressive modern world, culture is a unifying factor for good-neighborliness between countries and regional cooperation, which plays an important role in the social, political and economic spheres of Central Asian countries.
Continuing the event, the speakers discussed the development of multilateral interaction in the direction of cultural, humanitarian and intercivilizational dialogue, including intraregional ties of the countries participating in the conference.
Summarizing the speeches of foreign and Kazakhstani experts, the Chairman of the Board of N. Nazarbayev Center B. Sarsenbayev expressed confidence that today's online conference will be another step in promoting a noble goal that will contribute to the practical solution of key tasks, the advancement of new, demanded ideas and proposals aimed to strengthen peace and harmony.
Following the results of the international online conference «Neighborliness of Cultures in the XXI century of Central Asian countries», the participants developed appropriate recommendations for further studying the issues of interfaith and intercivilizational dialogue, the formation of stable mechanisms of interaction in solving the problems of Central Asian countries, as well as cooperation within the framework of the Congress of Leaders of World and traditional religions and its institutions.
