Chairman of the Senate Maulen Ashimbayev visited the Arab Republic of Egypt on behalf of the Head of State, where he had several meetings with political and religious leaders of the country.
During his meeting with Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, Maulen Ashimbayev extended him the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to take part in the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions scheduled for September 2022. The parties noted the high importance of the Congress for the expansion of dialogue between representatives of various religious traditions and denominations.
“We appreciate your comprehensive support of the Kazakh initiative for holding the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in the capital of our country. Such top-level meetings of religious figures are of great importance for the whole world, particularly at the current moment, which is characterized by the aggravation of many geopolitical and economic contradictions and challenges. This platform is important for the promotion of the principles of peace, concord, and dialogue, and also for joining efforts of the world religious leaders and politicians in development of the humanity in the post-pandemic period. I am confident that your participation in the Congress activity will provide an added incentive to the expansion of dialogue between world and traditional religions and search of common responses to global challenges of today’s world,” Maulen Ashimbayev said.
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, which is historically one of the key educational, scientific, spiritual centers of the Islamic world, highly appreciated the contribution of our state in the promotion of the ideas of peace and concord, and also called Kazakhstan a very significant country from the perspective of supporting and enhancing the global inter-religious dialogue.
Ahmed El-Tayeb emphasized that Egypt had watched the January events in our country very attentively. He voiced his support for the people of Kazakhstan and welcomed the stabilization of the situation.
The interlocutors also talked about the meaningful role of the Al-Azhar University in the formation of qualified personnel in the field of Islamic studies for the whole world and particularly for Kazakhstan. During the meeting, Ahmed El-Tayeb underscored the readiness of Al-Azhar to help our country in training specialists in the religious field, as well as in the field of engineering, medical and other spheres. In the course of the meeting, the Egyptian party expressed its readiness to facilitate more intensive advanced training of Kazakhstani imams and other religious clerics.
Also, during the visit, the Memorandum on Cooperation between the N. Nazarbayev Center for Development of Interfaith and Intercivilization Dialogue of Kazakhstan and the Al-Azhar Center for Interreligious Dialogue of Egypt was signed.
At the meeting with Abdel Wahab Abdel Razeq, the Speaker of the Senate of Egypt, Maulen Ashimbayev discussed the issues of strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation and interaction in the cultural and humanitarian and other fields.
“Egypt is one of the key partners of Kazakhstan in the Arab and Muslim world. The strengthening of relations in the trade and economic, agrarian, tourist, cultural and humanitarian fields serves the interests of both countries. The Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan stands ready to cooperate actively with colleagues from the Parliament of Egypt in these and other areas,” Maulen Ashimbayev noted.
The Senate Speaker stressed that the peoples of Kazakhstan and Egypt are bound by deep cultural and historical roots. Both peoples revere the memory of Sultan of Egypt az-Zahir Baybars, a prominent commander and statesman of the XIII century.
The historical background of the two countries was also touched upon when Maulen Ashimbayev met with Mohammad Mukhtar Juma, Minister of Awqaf of Egypt. The Senate Speaker noted that Kazakhstan had previously provided funds for the reconstruction of the Sultan Baybars Mosque in Cairo. At the end of the meeting, it was announced that Egypt would additionally allocate about 2 million dollars for the completion of the reconstruction of the mosque. The parties emphasized the symbolism of the completion of reconstruction works in light of the forthcoming 800th birth anniversary of Sultan Baybars in 2023.
The Senate Speaker also had a meeting with Supreme Mufti of Egypt Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam, where they discussed the promotion of the message of peace and interfaith dialogue at the international level.
(Press Office of the Senate, 74-72-27. Photo by E. Ukibayev)
