On November 8, a substantive discussion of leading experts took place at the
site of the N. Nazarbayev Center for the Development of Interfaith and
Intercivilizational Dialogue, representatives of Kazakhstani and international
research organizations of Central Asian countries at the online conference "
Neighborliness of cultures in the XXI century of the countries of Central Asia ".
The main purpose of the conference is to consolidate the regional efforts of
stakeholders in the interfaith sphere and the rapprochement of cultures, as well as
to activate the fruitful partnership of the Central Asian countries.
Online conference was attended by following participants Deputy Chairman
of Religious Affairs Committee of the Ministry of Information and Social
Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan B. Bakirov, General Director of the
IRCICA Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç (Turkey), Professor at National Defense
College of UAE and Board Member of the International Institute for Cultural
Diplomacy Prof. Albadr S.S. Abu-Baker Alshateri (UAE), Deputy Chairman of the
Board of Muslims of Uzbekistan I. Inomov, head of the Department of Preaching
and Propaganda of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan B.
Mansurov, Head of Administration of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan Bishop
Gennady of Kaskelen, Chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Central
Asia, Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Most Holy Trinity in Almaty Bishop
José Luís Mumbiela Sierra, Officer in Charge of the UNESCO Cluster Office in
Almaty M. Magnusson, Assistant to the Grand Mufti, Chairman of the Spiritual
Administration of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan U. Sultanov, Executive Vice-Chairman,
Chief Executive Officer of the NGO “National Commission in Support of the
Jewish Communities of Eurasia” Mark Barry Levin (USA), Representative of the
Republic of Kazakhstan in TURKSOY B. Omarov (Turkey), Head of the
UNESCO Department of the Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University I.
Khalitova, Senior Expert of the International Turkic Academy T. Kozyrev,
Chairman of the Management Board of the N.Nazarbayev Center for the
Development of Interfaith and Inter-civilization Dialogue B. Sarsenbayev.
At the conference, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Religious Affairs
B.Bakirov made a greeting on behalf of the Ministry of Information and Social
Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, who noted that "Kazakhstan is a
secular multi-ethnic state where Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Turkmens,
along with many others, have been peacefully coexisting together for many years. I
am sure that in the future all the countries of Central Asia will also remain a cradle
for peaceful coexistence of different ethnic groups and faiths."
During the conference General Director of the IRCICA Prof. Dr. Mahmud
Erol Kılıç, Expressing sincere gratitude for the invitation to the conference, he
confirmed the continued support of the international events of the Center.
"Maintaining dynamic international platforms for interfaith and
intercivilizational dialogue is becoming an increasingly important goal in our time.
The current conference, organized by the N. Nazarbayev Center, is another
favorable step in this direction. Our IRCICA center also supports this goal. One of
our tasks in this area is to promote dialogue between the Muslim world and other
major civilizations by providing scientific information on developing concepts,
emerging needs and current topics relevant to the dialogue.", - noted Prof. Dr.
Mahmud Erol Kılıç.
Summarizing the speeches of foreign and Kazakhstani experts, Chairman of
the Board of the N. Nazarbayev Center B. Sarsenbayev informed about the results
of the VII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, and also
outlined the significance of the Declaration of the Congress. In addition,
B.Sarsenbayev noted that Kazakhstan stands for strengthening mutual trust and
closer cooperation with representatives of Central Asian countries.
"It is on the basis of the principles of good neighborliness and mutually
beneficial partnership that our states will be able to more effectively realize their
potential in the cultural and humanitarian sphere. I am sure that everyone will
benefit from this – Central Asian states and other countries. Our main goal is to
jointly transform Central Asia into a prosperous region with the preservation of our
cultural heritage," - said B.Sarsenbayev.
In general, during the conference, the participants discussed topical issues of
the development of interfaith dialogue, multilateral cooperation in the direction of
cultural and humanitarian dialogue, including intraregional relations of the
participating countries of the conference.
