Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev’s telephone conversation with IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong

December 4, 2020 г.

Preparations for the Global Conference on Interreligious and Interethnic Dialogue were discussed.

Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, Head of the Eurasia IPU Geopolitical Group Konstantin Kosachev spoke by phone with Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Martin Chungong.

The senator and the Secretary-General discussed the preparations for the Global Conference on Interreligious and Interethnic Dialogue scheduled to take place in Russia on 21 May 2022. It is expected that heads of state, members of parliament and representatives of global religions will take part in the conference, which will be held by the IPU with support and under the auspices of the UN.

According to Martin Chungong, the conference is among IPU’s priorities, and new IPU President Duarte Pacheco (elected on 3 November, 2020) shares this position.

The initiative to explore the possibility of organising the Global Conference on Interreligious and Interethnic Dialogue was advanced by the Federation Council Speaker and added as a separate point to the final document of the 137^th IPU Assembly held in St Petersburg in 2017.

At the 140^th IPU Assembly held in Qatar in 2019, the Russian Federation Council’s delegation offered to host the conference. It was suggested that the event should be timed to coincide with the completion of the International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures held by UNESCO at the decision of the UN and with the 20^th anniversary of World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development established by the UN General Assembly.

During the 74^th UN General Assembly held in September 2020, UN Resolution 74/304 “Interaction between the United Nations, national parliaments and the Inter-Parliamentary Union” was adopted by consensus. This resolution formalised the holding of the Global Conference on Interreligious and Interethnic Dialogue in Russia.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed the UN Alliance of Civilisations and its head Miguel Angel Moratinos the event coordinators from the UN.