On 5th February 2026, in Abu Dhabi, the International Center for Interfaith and Interreligious Dialogue took part in the Human Fraternity Roundtable 2026, organized within the framework of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity. The Center was represented by the Chair of the Board, Gulsana Kozhabay.
Maulen Ashimbayev, Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, attended the roundtable together with members of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan.
In his remarks, Maulen Ashimbayev emphasized the importance of strengthening trust, upholding human dignity, and fostering dialogue amid contemporary global crises, and reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s support for international initiatives in the field of interreligious and humanitarian cooperation. The Head of the Kazakh delegation, Maulen Ashimbayev, spoke about the activities of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and outlined the key provisions of the Astana Peace Declaration 2025.
Among the participants of the roundtable were Charles Michel, former President of the European Council and former Prime Minister of Belgium; Megawati Sukarnoputri, former President of Indonesia; and Xavier Garcia, Chief Executive Officer of World Central Kitchen and laureate of the 2025 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, along with other distinguished international figures.
During the discussion, participants addressed issues of intergenerational dialogue, collective responsibility for future generations, and the need for an ethical approach to the development of modern technologies.
The participation of representatives of Kazakhstan in the Human Fraternity Roundtable 2026 reaffirmed the country’s commitment to promoting the values of human fraternity, peace, and international dialogue.
As part of the visit, a meeting also took place between Maulen Ashimbayev and Mohammed Abdel Salam, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Elders. The meeting highly praised Kazakhstan’s role in advancing interreligious dialogue and a culture of peace. The contribution of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, was noted, as well as the significance of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions as an authoritative international platform.
The parties underscored the importance of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity as a global initiative promoting the values of human dignity and dialogue, and confirmed their interest in further developing cooperation in the field of interreligious and humanitarian engagement.
In 2026, the laureates of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity were:
— the Agreement on Establishment of Peace and Inter-state Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as an example of peaceful dialogue, reconciliation, and responsibility for a sustainable future;
— Zarqa Yaftali, for her long-standing efforts to defend the right of girls and women to education and for providing educational and psychosocial support to more than 100,000 people in Afghanistan and beyond;
— Taawon, for its large-scale humanitarian and development activities reaching more than one million Palestinians annually.
