The XVI Session of the Secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions presided over by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of the World and Traditional Religions, Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was held on May 18, 2017.
The Session was attended by:
REPRESENTATIVES OF ISLAM
Abdelrahman Moussa - Advisor for International Affairs to the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar;
Ghahraman Soleimani - Deputy Head of the Organization of Culture and Islamic Relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran;
Monqith Mahmood al-Sakkar - Advisor of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences of the Muslim World League;
Abdullah Fahad Al-Lheedan - Adviser to the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Da’wah and Guidance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;
Muhammad Zia-Ul-Haq - Director General of the Institute for the Islamic Research of the International Islamic University in Islamabad;
Gouda Basyouny - Rector of the Egypt University of Islamic Culture Nur-Mubarak.
Mohammed Dahlwy – Director of Dialogue of Alliance and Civilizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;
Mohammad Reza Nazeri – Head of the Second Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
REPRESENTATIVES OF CHRISTIANITY
Emmanuel Adamakis - Metropolitan of France, Exarch of Europe, Representative of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew;
Khaled Akasheh - Bureau Chief for Islam, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Vatican;
Richard Atkinson - Bishop of Bedford, the Church of England;
Dimitry Safonov - Executive Secretary of the Interreligious Council of Russia, Secretary for Interreligious Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate;
Markos Hovhannisyan - Bishop, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Ukraine, the Armenian Church;
Yuriy Novgorodov - Representative of the Lutheran World Federation, Bishop of the Еvangelical Lutheran Church in Kazakhstan.
REPRESENTATIVES OF BUDDHISM
Hu Xuefeng – Deputy Chairman of the Buddhist Association of China;
Shi Changzang – Deputy Secretary-General of the Buddhist Association of China;
Wang Li – Deputy Head of the International Department of the Buddhist Association of China;
Fan Yuhai - Deputy Secretary General of Beijing Association of Buddhists;
Byambajav Khunkhur - Da Lama of the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery;
Anil Sakya(Phra Shakyavongsvisuddhi) - Rector of the World Buddhist University;
Yang Ki-Hoon – Permanent representative of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism in Central Asia.
REPRESENTATIVE OF JUDAISM
Eli Havlin – Representative of the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel.
REPRESENTATIVE OF TAOISM
Hu Chenglin – Deputy Chairman of the Taoist Association of China;
Yan Chzhoutin – Monk, Taoist Academy.
REPRESENTATIVES OF SHINTOISM
Katsuji Iwahashi - Director of the International Relations Department, Japan Association of Shinto Shrines, Jinja Honcho;
Megumi Abe – Officer of the International Relations Department, Japan Association of Shinto Shrines, Jinja Honcho.
REPRESENTATIVES OF HINDUISM
Kala Dhananjay Acharya – Director of the Indian Culture Centre “K.J.Somaiya Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham”;
Pathak Prachi –Assistant Professor at the Indian Culture Centre “K.J.Somaiya Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham”.
REPRESENTATIVE OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION
Matthew Hodes –Director of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.
SPECIALLY INVITED PARTICIPANTS OF THE XVI MEETING OF THE SECRETARIAT
Rashid Ahmed Al Teneiji – Advisor to the Minister of State for Tolerance of the United Arab Emirates, Executive Director of the National Program for Tolerance;
Ahmad Khalfan Al Mansoori – Secretary General for Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for World Peace;
Phichai Tovivich – Secretary General of the Office of the World Peace Envoy, President of the International Religious Federation for Peace of Thailand;
Khalifa Al Dhaheri – Executive Director, MUATA center;
REPRESENTATIVES OF RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS OF KAZAKHSTAN
Yerzhan Mayamerov – Supreme Mufti, Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan;
Gennady Kaskelensky – Executive office of the Metropolitan Region in the Republic of Kazakhstan, bishop;
Tomasz Peta – Archbishop, Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Holy Mary in Astana, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Kazakhstan;
Shmuel Karnauh– Chief Rabbi of Astana and Akmola region.
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN
Nurlan Yermekbayev – Minister for Religious Affairs and Civil Society of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
Yerzhan Ashikbayev – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Congress;
Berik Aryn –Vice Minister of Religious Affairs and Civil Society of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Commissioner for the Promotion of the Goals of the Congress.
At the XVI Session of the Secretariat of the Congress the following agenda was approved:
- Preparations for the VI Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Exchange of opinions on awarding with the Astana International Award for the interfaith dialogue and the Medal of Honor of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Agreeing on the date of the VI Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and XVII Session of the Secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Presentation of Kazakhstan’s priorities in the UN Security Council.
- Adoption of the Minutes of the XVI Session of the Secretariat of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
At the session of the Secretariat fruitful discussions were held on the agenda issues. All members of the Secretariat of the Congress participated in the discussions.
The following decisions were taken at the XVI Session of the Secretariat of the Congress:
I. To continue preparations for the VI Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
II. To support the main criteria for the candidates for the Astana International Award for Interfaith Dialogue and the Medal of Honor of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
III. To propose to hold the VI Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions on October 10-11, 2018 in Astana.
IV. To hold the XVII Session of the Secretariat of the Congress on October 9, 2018 in Astana.
V. To inform Religious Leaders about the decisions taken.
