The Embassy of Kazakhstan took part on November 5 in a ceremony establishing the Consultative Council of the World Peace parliamentary group, at the invitation of Brazil’s Federal Senate.
Senator Paulo Paim will chair the new initiative. Ulisses Riedel, a former senator and president of the Kazakhstan–Brazil Friendship Forum, was named executive secretary of the council.
The group aims to maintain a standing agenda focused on international dialogue and cooperation, peace, social justice, human rights, sustainable development and reducing social inequality.
Kazakhstan was invited to join the Consultative Council. The Brazilian side described the invitation as recognition of the country’s contribution to global security, nuclear disarmament, and interfaith and intercivilizational dialogue.
The ceremony highlighted Kazakhstan’s voluntary renunciation of the nuclear arsenal it inherited after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in 1991.
Participants also noted the role of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held regularly in Astana as a platform for dialogue among different faiths, cultures and peoples. The Brazilian side said Kazakhstan’s participation could expand interparliamentary contacts and support bilateral cooperation and joint initiatives.
