President Nursultan Nazarbayev Takes Part in the Opening of the OSCE High-Level Conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination at the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation.

Addressing the participants of the conference, the President noted that the last decade of the past century and the first decade of the current century made dramatic shifts in the conception of tolerance and in the real policy in the OSCE space.

"And it is not accidental as the conditions of interethnic, cultural, religious and civilized interaction had changed, Nursultan Nazarbayev stressed.

The head of state emphasized that as the OSCE Chairmanship, Kazakhstan intends to contribute to the promotion of ideas of tolerance, inter-ethnic peace and inter-confessional agreement in the OSCE area."

"Our country entirely promotes the development of the dialogue between the Muslim world and the West and is a member of the Group Alliance of Civilizations. In 2008, at the initiative of our country Astana hosted Ministerial Conference "Common World:Progress Through Diversity." Kazakhstan has initiated and hosted three Congress of Leades of World and Traditional Religions - a unique international forum promoting strenghtening the global inter-confessional world," the President highlighted.

It is not accidental that having into consideration our country's important practical contribution in strenghtening inter-civilized dialogue, the UN actively supported for Kazakhstan's initiative to designate 2010 as the International Year for Reapproachment of Cultures.

Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed confidence that this Conference will produce new progressive ideas promoting tolerance, non-discrimination and combating all forms of intolerance.

The head of state wished all participants of the Conference fruitful work.