Dear Guests!
This session of the Secretariat and process of preparation for the Congress is running when situation in the world is aggravating. Not only political, but also sectarian and inter-religious contradictions have emerged. The World has faced unprecedented manifestations of intolerance and cruelty. Feeling anxious we see that the ideas of religious extremism and radicalism are gaining popularity with young people residing not only in poor developing countries, but also in the West.
In our opinion, the goal of the forthcoming Congress is a frank discussion of issues the mankind is facing. Therefore, we propose to address the dialogue of religious leaders and political leaders at the Congress.
As confessional guides, you are the keepers of moral and ethical values influencing the minds and feelings of individuals and the society as a whole. You can inspire good deeds and accomplishments and help overcome the barriers of ignorance, fear and misunderstanding. In turn, policymakers are able both to implement the dreams and aspirations of the people to live in peace and realize the idea of the Congress to promote mutual understanding, accord and cooperation among people of different confessions and nationalities. Together we can do much more than one at a time.
I'm confident that everyone of us is full of hopes and commitments to end the senseless bloodshed and create favorable conditions for a solid and sustainable peace. One way to achieve this simple human purpose is to promote religious tolerance and mutual respect, invite the warring parties to the negotiating table for dialogue and help them reach a compromise.
Dear participants,
Nowadays it has become more obvious that the problems of the modern globalizing world can be solved only by means of constructive dialogue. It is very important to find a common ground for interaction that diversity could serve as a uniting factor for people and nations rather than dividing one. Therefore, a major the principle of “unity is in diversity” is very crucial and needs to be supported in all parts of the world.
As President Nazarbayev said at the first Congress in 2003 “the importance of continuous dialogue is that in spite of existing differences the process of seeking for a “golden mean” goes on. It is essential that dialogue creates a territory of peace and accord, establishes harmony and clarity.”
I believe that we will be able to make the voice of our forum louder on the global scale. To this end in our discussions we should focus on the most acute problems that humanity faces today, finding ways to counter new challenges and threats. And our meeting should further popularize the noble ideas of tolerance, mutual understanding, dialogue and cooperation.
I am confident that we will have meaningful and interesting discussions today and we will make all the preparations needed to successfully hold our Fifth Congress.
I would like to wish all of us fruitful work!
