OIC can cooperate effectively with G20 - Kairat Mami

RIYADH. February 25. KAZINFORM The Organization of Islamic Cooperation can cooperate effectively with the Group of 20, Speaker of the Senate of Kazakhstan's Parliament Kairat Mami said at the first session of the consultative meeting "Global Dialogue of Cultures" at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton on Saturday.

"This representative forum is dedicated to the problems of modern world. One of the themes, the importance of which increases with time is the religious tolerance and cultural and spiritual understanding. From this point of view, I want to note that the noble initiatives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz concerning the development of inter-religious dialogue enjoy great respect and support in the international arena," Kairat Mami noted.

The speaker noted that the development of inter-religious and inter-civilizational dialogue is one of the priorities in foreign and domestic policy of Kazakhstan. "We have made a considerable contribution to these initiatives. At the suggestion of our President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2003 Kazakhstan regularly hosts Congresses of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions," said the Chairman of the Senate. According to him, the theme of the 4th Congress scheduled for 30-31 May 2012 in Astana is "Peace and Harmony - the Choice of Mankind."

Mami emphasized the dialogue between civilizations is one of the main goals of Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Kazakh side believes that the OIC, whose member countries possess 70 per cent of the world's energy resources, can effectively cooperate with G20. In this context, the initiative of President Nursultan Nazarbayev on the possibility of participation of OIC in the G20 summits is very important.