Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions is important and effective dialogue platform, UN Secretary-General
According to the press service of the Senate, March 4 Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev started his working visit to New York. Tokayev held talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and handed him a personal message from the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. In the letter Kazakh President invited the UN Secretary General to take part in the V Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions which will take place June 10-11, 2015 in Astana. "I am convinced that your personal involvement in the Congress will give the international community a clear signal that the presence of coordinated action and mutual support of the religious hierarchy and politicians will help common humanity to effectively meet the challenges of today's global world," said the chairman of the Senate. UN Secretary General praised the Kazakhstan's model of interethnic and interreligious peace and accord. He stressed that the religious congress, initiated by Nursultan Nazarbayev, is an important and effective dialogue platform. According to Ban Ki-moon, the UN will support the event and cooperate with Kazakhstan in order to promote the goals and objectives of the forum in the world community. Speaking in the main office of the organization Tokayev noted that Kazakhstan appreciates the multifaceted activities of the United Nations aimed at promoting dialogue among civilizations. "We firmly believe that interreligious and interconfessional consent is an important prerequisite for creation of peace and security. We managed to build a unique model of interethnic and interreligious peace and accord. The spiritual forum aims at uniting the efforts of religious leaders to promote interfaith dialogue, peacebuilding, prevention of religious-based conflicts, as well as to develop new forms of international collaboration. He informed that the results of the past four forums show that the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions has been established as a permanent forum of religious leaders who, together with prominent politicians and heads of international organizations, gather to discuss the most pressing topical issues. K.Tokayev's working visit to New York became an important part of the preparation for the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.