Ban Ki-moon lauds Nursultan Nazarbayev's initiative to convoke Religious Leaders Congress

At the meeting, Nursultan Nazarbayev and Ban Ki-moon discussed the work of the 5th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions which is underway in Astana and further strengthening of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the organization. The President of Kazakhstan stressed that the Secretary-General's participation had bolstered the prestige of the Congress. "Despite your tight schedule, especially in the period of economic crisis and inter-faith conflicts, preparations for the 70th anniversary of the organization, you have come to our country. Besides, you supported our initiative to shut down the nuclear test site celebrated on the 29th of August as the International Day against Nuclear Tests. I believe that by hosting such forums Kazakhstan greatly contributes to the establishment of peace in the world," the Head of State said. Ban Ki-moon, in turn, thanked Nursultan Nazarbayev for the invitation to take part in such prestigious religious forum which brought together leaders of world religions. The UN Secretary-General praised President Nazarbayev's vision and initiative to convoke the Congress. "You put forward the initiative 15 years ago when the situation was completely different. Nowadays, when the entire world is suffering from religious extremism and terrorism, the voices of religious leaders calling for an end to hatred need to be heard," Ban Ki-moon added.