Islamic countries Culture Ministers highly appreciated results of 5th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions
The Forum adopted the Muscat Declaration and the Resolution of the 9th Islamic Conference of Culture Ministers based on the speeches and reports of heads of delegations, where the participants expressed their gratitude to President Nursultan Nazarbayev for his noble initiative to convene the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions as well as for his efforts on achievement the objectives of the Congress. They also highly appreciated the Declaration of the 5th Congress held in Astana on June 10-11, 2015.
Berik Aryn, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Egypt and Maghreb countries and the representative of Kazakhstan in the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) represented our country, the Kazakh MFA's press service reports.
Iyad bin Amin Madani, the OIC Secretary General, Abdulaziz al-Tuwaijri, the ISESCO Director General, culture ministers and delegations from 40 Islamic countries and a number of international organizations attended the conference under the title "Promoting the intermediary position of culture in muslim societies development"
The Conference also coincided with the celebration of Omani city of Nizwa as the capital of Islamic culture in 2015 from the Arab region. This year the other capitals of Islamic culture were Almaty from Asia and Cotonou, Benin, from Africa. The reports from ISESCO Director General and the heads of delegations on the implementation of the "Cultural Strategy of Islamic World" which stipulates such issues as enhancing the role of culture in strengthening relations between countries, the fight against Islamophobia, the promotion of the dialogue and cultural diversity, the protection of Islamic historical and cultural heritage, the development of information and communication technologies in the Islamic world, the implementation of the program "Capitals cities of Islamic Culture" etc. were heard.
Chairman of the conference, Minister of Heritage and Culture of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said stated that the aim of declaring the cities of ISESCO member countries as cultural capitals of the Islamic world is the revival of their history and civilizations and their contribution to culture and science for the creation of present and future.
In his rewards, Iyad bin Amin Madani noted the importance of the international organizations efforts working closely with Islamic countries in order to preserve the Islamic heritage and monuments that were destroyed as a result of terrorist attacks.
In his keynote address, Abdulaziz al-Tuwaijri stressed that a deliberate policy on the development of Islamic culture is still a relevant issue, and culture plays a significant role in further strengthening the ties between the countries.
In his turn, Berik Aryn presented to participants the activities carried out within the framework of "Almaty - Islamic Culture Capital 2015", and the efforts of our country to promote the historical and cultural heritage of Islam, as well as the contribution to the development of dialogue between religions and civilizations. In that context, the participants were informed of the results of the 5th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions held in June in the capital city of Kazakhstan.
Moreover, the Kazakh Ambassador spoke about hosting other important anniversary events in 2015 such as the celebration of the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate, in the formation of which Islam played a crucial role, and the 20th anniversary of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan.
During the conference the Kazakh diplomat also held a bilateral meeting of the Kazakh diplomat with Abdulaziz al-Tuwaijri, where they discussed issues such as further expansion of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on promotion of interfaith and intercultural dialogue and others.
Abdulaziz al-Tuwaijri expressed his support for Kazakhstan's foreign policy initiatives and pledged his commitment to further active cooperation with Kazakhstan in all ISESCO activity areas, while also confirming the participation of his organization in "EXPO 2017".