Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Swiss Confederation and concurrently at the Vatican, Kairat Sarzhanov, presented his credentials to His Holiness Pope Francis, El.kz cites MFA.
Ambassador Sarzhanov conveyed warm greetings and best wishes from President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and expressed the readiness of the Kazakh side to further strengthen cooperation with the Holy See, emphasizing the historical significance of the Pope's participation in the work of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, as well as the scale of the religious mass held in Astana last September with the participation of His Holiness on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and the Vatican.
In turn, Pope Francis expressed gratitude for the organization of his visit to Kazakhstan and international initiative to promote the policy of peace and dialogue. According to the Pontiff, the Holy See, in accordance with its mission, seeks to protect the inviolable dignity of every person, promote the common good and strengthen human brotherhood among people.
During the visit to the Vatican, Ambassador Sarzhanov also held meetings with the top leadership of the Holy See – Substitute for the Secretariat of State Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher and Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue – Prefect of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims Cardinal Miguel Ayuso Guixot, where the parties discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation, including in the field of medicine, science and research, as well as issues of human rights, nuclear disarmament and climate change.