September 18-19, 2007, Astana, Kazakhstan        

The VI Session of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions presided over by H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was held on September 18-19, 2007. 

Participants to the Session were:

Rapil Zhoshybayev - Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Eraly Togzhanov - Chairman of the Committee on Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Dulat Kuanyshev - Ambassador at Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.  

Representatives of Islam: Sheikh Ali Abdel Baki Shehata - Secretary General on Islamic Studies of the Al - Azhar University, Egypt; Mohammed al Sakkar Mahmood - Adviser, Muslim World League, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Alturki Majed Abdulaziz - Adviser to Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah and Guidance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Shama Mohamed Abdel Ghani Morsi - Adviser to Minister of Awqafs and Islamic Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt; Seyed Mohammad Javad Vazerifard - Deputy President (Research and Education), Organization of Culture and Islamic Relations, Iran;

Rozy Munir - Chairman of Nadhlatul Ulama, Indonesia; Ibrahim Ali Rabu - Personal Representative of Secretary General  of the World Islamic Call Society; Mohammad Umar Gautam - Director of Markazul Maarif Education and Research Center, Jamia Millia Islamia; Mohamed Obaid Rahed Bin Ghazi - General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Awqafs, United Arab Emirates; Kalishan Zankoyev - Head Imam, Nur-Astana Central Mosque, representative of Ecclesiastic Directorate of Muslims of Kazakhstan.

Representatives of Christianity: Khaled Akasheh - Bureau Chief for Islam of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue; Alexander Vasyutin - Priest, Department on External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchy; Yuri Novgorodov - Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kazakhstan, representative of the World Lutheran Federation; Marcos Ovanesyan- bishop, Gegharkunik diocese.

Representatives of Buddhism: Wang Li - Executive of oversea affairs of the Buddhist Association of China; PhraDharmakosajarn - Rector of the Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Thailand; Yang Ki Hoon (Joju) - representative in Central Asia (based in Tashkent) of Chogechon Buddhist Organization; Khunkhur Byambajav - Da Lama, Center of Mongolian Buddhists Gandantegchenling  Monastery.

Representative of Judaism: Elkana Holzer - Representative of the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi;  Meir Danino - Representative of the Sephardic Chief Rabbi.

Representative of Shintoism: Katsuji Iwahashi - Association of Shinto Shrines.

Representative of Daoism: Yin Zhihua - Chinese Daocist Association

Representative of Hinduism: Mrs. Kala Dhananjay Acharya - Director of the Research Institute for Indian Culture "Somaiya Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham". 

Representatives of international organizations: Stein Villumstad - Deputy Secretary General of Religions for Peace, United States.

 Invited guests: Tomasz Peta - Archbishop of Astana, Roman Catholic Church; Archimandrite Serapion - Deputy  Mitropolitan of Almaty and Astana; Boris Manoilenko - Assistant to the Chief Rabbi of Kazakhstan.

In the process of the session of Congress Secretariat the following agenda was set up:

1. To discuss the theme and agenda of the III Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.

2. To establish working group to prepare final documents of the III Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.

3. To fix the date and place of the VII Session of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.

4. To adopt the Protocol of the VI Session of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.

During the session of Secretariat fruitful exchange of views on the agenda took place. All members of the Secretariat participated in the discussions of above mentioned questions.

Having considered the proposals of participants to session of Secretariat the following decisions were taken:

I. To take into account voiced proposals on the theme (Annex 1) and to divide them on below five cluster groups:

1) Moral values;

2) Peace and Security;

3) Environment and Harmony;

4) Genuine Dialogue and cooperation;

5) Promotion of Justice.

II. To delegate to a working group to continue work on the agenda of the III Congress of the Leaders of  World and Traditional Religions.

III. To set a Working group for drafting the final documents of the III  Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions as follows:

1. Rapil Zhoshibayev - Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

2. Yerali Togzhanov - Chairman of the Committee on Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

3. Doulat Kuanyshev - Ambassador at Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

4. Mohamed Abdel Ghani Morsi Shama - Adviser to the Minister of Awqafs of the Arab Republic of Egypt;

5. Majed Abdulaziz Alturki - Adviser to the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah and Guidance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;

6. Khaled Akasheh - Bureau Chief for Islam of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the Holy See (Vatican);

7. Meir Danino - Representative of the Sephardic Chief Rabbi;

8. Yuri Novgorodov - Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kazakhstan, representative of the World Lutheran Federation;

9. Alexander Vasyutin - Priest, Department on External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchy;

10. Mrs. Kala Dhananjay Acharya - Director of the Research Institute for Indian Culture "Somaiya Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham", Representative of Hinduism. India;

11. Yang Ki-Hoon (Joju) - representative in Central Asia (based in Tashkent) of Chogechong Buddhist Organization

IV. To hold the VII session of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Almaty on 28-29 October 2008.