On September 13, 2022, the XX Session of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions was held in Nur-Sultan under the chairmanship of the Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions Maulen ASHIMBAYEV.
The session was attended by:
Representatives of Islam:
Sheikh-Ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office.
Abdulaziz bin Ahmad Sarhan – Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Muslim World League.
Nazir Muhammad Muhammed Al-Nazir Ayyad – Secretary General of Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy.
Mohammed Abdul Wahed Al-Arifi – Undersecretary of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Neshet Bodur – Adviser on religious issues at the Embassy of Republic of Turkey in Nur-Sultan
Muhammad Zia Ul Haq – Director General of the Islamic Research Institute at the International Islamic University of Islamabad.
Mohammed al-Shahat al-Jindi – Representative of the Minister of Waqfs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Rector of the Egyptian University of Islamic Culture "Nur-Mubarak", Doctor.
Zahra Rashidbeygi – Director of the Department for Dialogue between Islam and Christianity at the Center for Dialogue of Religions and Cultures of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization of Islamic Republic of Iran.
Representatives of Christianity:
Nader Moghrabi – Advisor to the Patriarch of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church.
Dimitri Safonov – Secretary for Interreligious Relations of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Khaled Akashe – Head of the Bureau for Islamic Affairs of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Monsignor.
Yuri Novgorodov – Representative of the Lutheran World Federation, Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kazakhstan.
Joe Bailey Wells – Bishop of Dorking (Great Britain), Special Representative of the Anglican Church at the Congress.
Representatives of Judaism:
Shlomo Kook – Representative of the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi.
Representatives of Buddhism:
Khunkhur Byambajav – Secretary General of the World Interreligious Organization "Religions for Peace".
Song Jin – Member of the International Relations Committee of the Korean Buddhist Order "Jogye", Head of the Songwans Temple in Namyangju
Kun Cao – employee of the Association of Buddhists of China.
Representative of Taoism:
Feng He – Head of the International Department of the Chinese Taoist Association.
Representative of Shintoism:
Shinsaku Mizui – the Director of the Department of International Relations of the Jinja Honche Association of Shinto Temples.
Representative of Hinduism:
Rudraksha Sakrikar – Secretary of the Program on Interfaith Relations and Mutual Understanding of Somaya Vidyavihar University
Representatives of international organizations:
Nihal Saad – Deputy High Representative of the UN Alliance of Civilizations.
Mohammed Abdel Salam – Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Elders, General Secretary of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (UAE).
Representatives of religious associations of Kazakhstan:
Nauryzbay kazhy Taganuly – Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan, Supreme Mufti.
Alexander – Metropolitan of Astana and Kazakhstan.
Tomasz Bernard Peta – Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Mary in the city of Nur-Sultan
Yeshaya Elazar Cohen – Chief Rabbi of Kazakhstan.
Representatives of the Republic of Kazakhstan:
Maulen Ashimbayev – Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
Darkhan Kydyrali – Minister of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Akan Rakhmetullin – First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
Serik Egizbayev – Vice-Minister of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
Bulat Sarsenbayev – Chairman of the Board of the N. Nazarbayev Center for the Development of Interfaith and Intercivilizational Dialogue, Authorized to promote the goals and objectives of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
During the XX Session of the Secretariat of the Congress, the following Agenda was approved:
- Approval of the Agenda of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Approval of Moderators and Speakers of Breakout Sessions of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Approval of the draft Final Document – DECLARATION of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Determining the date and venue of the XXI session of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Determining the date of the VIII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Adopting the Minutes of the XX Session of Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
During the meeting of the Secretariat, a fruitful and constructive exchange of views took place on all Agenda items.
All members of the Secretariat participated in the discourse and discussions on the abovementioned issues.
Taking into account the proposals of the participants of the XX Session of the Secretariat of the Congress, the following decisions were made:
- To adopt the Agenda of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- To approve the List of Moderators and Speakers of Breakout Sessions of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- To adopt of the Final Document – DECLARATION of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions
- To convene the next XXI Session of the Secretariat of the Congress in the autumn of 2023 in Nur-Sultan.
To hold a regular meeting of the Secretariat Working Group in 2023 for the purpose of efficient preparation for the XXI Secretariat of the Congress.
- To hold the VIII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in 2025 in Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan.
- To adopt the Minutes of the XX Session of Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
Done in Nur-Sultan on September 13, 2022 in one original copy in Kazakh, Russian, English, Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Hebrew, Turkish, Farsi and Mongolian, the text is equally authoritative in each language.
The Minutes shall be kept at the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions - the N.Nazarbayev Center for Development of Interfaith and Intercivilization Dialogue (Nur–Sultan).
The N.Nazarbayev Center for Development of Interfaith and Intercivilization Dialogue shall promptly send each Party a certified copy of it.
