Importance of Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions hailed in Thailand
The main idea of the conference was to draw the attention of the Thai community to Kazakhstan's activities in promoting dialogue and strengthening interaction between various religious denominations for building global peace and reconciliation and to share experience in this respect. The conference was attended by representatives of government agencies, religious organizations, civic and academic circles, as well as the diplomatic corps of Thailand.
Kazakh Ambassador Raushan Yesbulatova made welcoming remarks and familiarized the audience with the results of the 6th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. In particular, she presented the major provisions of the Congress Declaration and revealed insights into its plenary and breakout sessions. Particular attention was given to the Manifesto "The World. The 21st Century" brought forward by President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev as a concept to handle issues of global peace and security.
In addition, the history of the Congress was presented as being the result of the implementation of the Kazakh President's unique initiative to create an international platform aimed at achieving peace, harmony and a fruitful dialogue between various religions, cultures, and civilizations.
Advisor to the President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists T. Sucharitkul and Secretary General of the World Peace Envoy Office P. Tovivich, who represented Thailand at this international event, shared their impressions about the 6th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. The delegates expressed their support for the Congress' initiatives to consolidate the efforts of spiritual and political leaders for creating an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect, which in their opinion would help prevent conflict situations. Besides, the representatives of Thailand spoke in praise of the organization level of the large-scale event.
Also, representatives of the Religious Affairs Department of the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Thailand told about their national mechanism for ensuring interfaith harmony. Nowadays, 15 religious organizations are officially registered in the Kingdom, and the major religions recognized by the Government are Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Christianity.
Following the presentation, there was a fruitful discussion, where the participants agreed on the topicality of developing the dialogue between various religions and cultures, as well as on the utmost importance of the Congress in this context.
