Pope Francis to arrive in Kazakhstan

Pope Francis will arrive in Kazakhstan today for the 8th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.

The attendance of the Congress by a sitting Pope is the first since Pope John Paul II in 2001. Francis will first hold a meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev before attending the congress for the next two days.  The congress is held every three years and aims to bring leaders of different religions together in order to promote interreligious harmony and cooperation. Figures from the Islamic, Jewish and Orthodox worlds will also be attending.

Kazakhstan has hosted the event for all previous renditions and leveraged its position as an intersection point between the Orthodox and Islamic worlds—Kazakhstan is approximately 70% Muslim with a large Orthodox minority of 20%, largely relating to historic ties with Russia. While the Pope’s visit is unlikely to have significant geopolitical consequences, its publicity can be expected to put Kazakhstan’s current neutral alignment between the west and Russia in the spotlight. Kazakhstan maintains close ties with Russia—having relied on Russian intervention to stabilize its government—but has refused to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or recognize the pro-Russian breakaway Peoples Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.