Origins of Congress:
For the first time, the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions was convened on September 23-24, 2003 by the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.Nazarbayev.
At the International Conference of Peace and Harmony on February 13, 2003, where representatives of Christian, Muslim, Jewish organizations took part, N.Nazarbayev presented to representatives of all faiths an initiative to hold the Congress of Leaders of World and traditional religions in Kazakhstan.
Objectives of the Congress:
Search for common human landmarks in world and traditional forms of religions;
Functioning of a permanent international interfaith institution for the dialogue of religions and the adoption of agreed decisions.
Main priorities of the Congress:
The establishment of peace, harmony and tolerance as the principles of human existence;
Achieving mutual respect and tolerance between religions, confessions, nations and ethnic groups;
Preventing the use of religious feelings of people for the escalation of conflicts and hostilities.