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"Peace cannot be guaranteed solely by political, economic or military agreements. Ultimately, this depends on the unanimous, sincere and consistent participation of the peoples."
Koichiro Matsuura,
Director-General of UNESCO, 2000
In the history of the formation of independent Kazakhstan, there were events that became a turning point not only on national scale. In the history of interfaith and inter-ethnic relations in the global world, September 2003 was a landmark date. The First President of the young state Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev initiated a high-level meeting of leaders of world and traditional religions at the heart of the Great Silk Road - Kazakhstan.
"Today, the ancient Kazakh land has the great honor of inviting leaders and high representatives of world and traditional religions from all over the globe for dialogue between civilizations and religions," Elbassy addressed the spiritual guides of the world's believers at the first Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana.
Authoritative representatives of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Shintoism, Hinduism and Buddhism, experts from leading international organizations, attended the first interfaith dialogue in Kazakhstan. Over the years, the high-level participants included more than 80 delegations from 40 countries of Europe, Asia, the Middle East and America. The peacemaking role of the interfaith summit in Kazakhstan in the global peace-building landscape is undeniable.
Holding six large-scale representative forums of interreligious dialogue in Kazakhstan on the initiative of the First President N. Nazarbayev became one of the most effective institutions of international cooperation and partnership.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, in his opening speech at the V Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions "Dialogue of religious leaders and politicians for peace and development", expressed gratitude to the people of Kazakhstan for "promoting a much-needed dialogue between religious and political leaders from around the world to improve mutual understanding and create a culture of cooperation and mutual respect". The prominent political figure expressed special gratitude to Nursultan Abishevich for "efforts to ensure that these complex issues become a fundamental part of the social and global agenda".
The importance of the meetings was not determined solely by the number and quality of participants. The range of topical issues discussed included acute issues of responsibility of political and religious leaders to humanity, the inadmissibility of violent extremism and terrorist acts against innocent people. The conceptual documents adopted by the leaders of the world's clergy during these years contained constructive proposals for implementing a preventive policy and overcoming the global ideological crisis of trust.
The productivity and transformational context of such a large-scale dialogue platform is expressed in its multiplicative effect on the global economy. This is the political vision of the First President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev, as an outstanding state strategist of the world level.
In his scientific work "Strategy for radical renewal of the global community and partnership of civilizations", Nursultan Abishevich outlined: "The problems of interaction between states, the transition from confrontation and conflicts to dialogue and partnership based on common core interests, i.e. the sustainable development of all mankind and the entire global civilization, are of central importance for the 21 century. ... Without dialogue and mutual understanding of civilizations, it is impossible for them to partner and join forces in solving common problems."
On the scale of the global ecosystem, almost every country today faces the challenges of an unstable world. The growing issues of "technological polarization of civilizations", including the problems of shortage of energy and natural resources, demographic and migration processes of global security, can be overcome only by mobilizing the efforts of the entire world community. A life-sustaining civilization is critical for all people on the planet and for future generations of humanity, regardless of their faiths.
Soviet and Russian physicist, educator, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Kapitsa wrote: "A reasonable person should be equally interested in the future of his own country and in the future of a single world where local, state, regional and global are closely intertwined. In this sense, the recognition of shared values can become an ethical basis for dialogue among civilizations."
The historical purpose and enormous potential of six important meetings of leaders of world and traditional religions are highly appreciated by such leading international organizations as the UN and the OSCE. Today, the large-scale dialogue platform is recognized by the world community and has become part of global programs of interfaith unity.
Preserving the cultural identity of more than 130 ethnic groups and faiths of our country, security and peace consolidation is a central aspect of Kazakhstan's multi-faceted policy. For the people of Kazakhstan, its great historical heritage is priceless.
The political will of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbassy N. Nazarbayev to establish a true interreligious partnership and support the dialogue of civilizations based on the principles of peace and creation for the sake of future generations is priceless. To unite not only Kazakhstani society, but also the world community is the distinctive and phenomenal ability and wisdom of the politician and strategist N. Nazarbayev.
In the chronology of landmark historical events, the global initiative and vision of the First President of Kazakhstan in consolidating world religious leaders will remain one of Kazakhstan’s large-scale peacekeeping missions. The contribution of the political leader of Independent Kazakhstan to a secure world will undoubtedly be appreciated by future generations of the civilized global world.