On 21 August 2026, Gulsana Kozhabay, Chair of the Board of the International Center for Interfaith and Interreligious Dialogue, met with Archbishop-Metropolitan Tomasz Peta of the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana.
The meeting focused on the further development of interfaith and interreligious dialogue, cooperation with the Catholic Church and preparations for the upcoming XXIV meeting of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
Particular attention was given to prospects for further cooperation with the Holy See. The parties expressed hope for a visit by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to Kazakhstan in the coming years.
The meeting coincided with two significant milestones in the life of Archbishop-Metropolitan Tomasz Peta: his 75th birthday and the 36th anniversary of his ministry in Kazakhstan. On 21 August 1990, he arrived in Kazakhstan and has since devoted a significant part of his pastoral ministry to the country.
On this occasion, Gulsana Kozhabay congratulated Archbishop-Metropolitan Tomasz Peta on his 75th birthday and highlighted his longstanding contribution to the development of interreligious dialogue and the strengthening of cooperation among Kazakhstan’s religious communities.
During his years of ministry, Kazakhstan welcomed Pope John Paul II in 2001 and Pope Francis in 2022. These visits marked important milestones in the development of relations between Kazakhstan and the Holy See, as well as in advancing interreligious dialogue in the country.
