April 26, 2023, in Istanbul (Turkey), the N. Nazarbayev Center for Development of Interfaith and Inter-Civilization Dialogue in cooperation with Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (IRCICA), held an International Round Table in a hybrid format on the theme: “On the significance of the VII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and its Declaration”, which discussed issues of further promotion of the ideas of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and its Declaration.
The main objective of the round table is to consider the further development of the role of religious leaders in achieving sustainable development of the world, as well as to promote the messages of the VII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and its Declaration.
IRCICA General Director Dr. Mahmud Erol Kilic (Turkey), Chairman of the Board of the N. Nazarbayev Center for Development of Interfaith and Inter-Civilization Dialogue Bulat Sarsenbayev, Chairman of the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue Dr. Ibrahim Saleh Al-Naimi (Qatar), President of the Planetary Union of Brazil Ulisses Riedel de Resende (Brazil), Chief Mufti of Istanbul Safi Arpagus (Turkey), Chairman of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Jarwan (UAE), Director of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies Dr. Renee Hattar (Jordan), General Director of the Institute for Islamic Studies at the International Islamic University of Islamabad Dr. Muhammad Zia Ul-Haq (Pakistan), Former Ambassador of Turkey to the Vatican Kenan Gyursoy (Turkey), Director of the Akshardam Center for Applied Research in the Field of Social Harmony Jayotindra Mukundrai Dave (India), Director of the Center for Islamic civilization under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shoazim Minovarov (Uzbekistan), Secretary General of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Central Asia, Auxiliary Bishop of the Karaganda Diocese Bishop Evgeny Zinkovsky (Kazakhstan), Professor of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Marmara in Turkey Dr. Ismail Taspinar (Turkey) and Associate Professor of Russian History and Religion, Department of History, Philosophy and Religious Studies, School of Sciences and Humanities of Nazarbayev University Daniel Scarborough.
Chairman of the Board of the N. Nazarbayev Center Bulat Sarsenbayev outlined the significant role of the VII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in strengthening religious tolerance and intercivilizational dialogue, and also stressed that the Congress is a unique dialogue platform in the world community to achieve mutual respect between religions, confessions and ethnic groups, noting the historical significance of the Declaration of the VII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which covers fundamental issues and can be used as instructions and help by international organizations and politicians around the world.
In their speeches, the participants identified key issues of interreligious and intercultural interaction, which are the leitmotif of the main ideas and messages of the VII Congress. In addition, foreign partners noted the importance of the Astana Congress as a permanent international interfaith institution for the promotion of dialogue among religions, cultures and civilizations. According to experts, the successful experience of Kazakhstan in this field should be studied and discussed, serve as an example for other countries.
As a result of the event, the participants developed appropriate recommendations for further study of issues of interfaith and intercivilizational dialogue, as well as cooperation within the framework of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and its institutions.
