Pope Francis To Visit Kazakhstan In September: Presidency

Pope Francis will visit Central Asia's largest nation of Kazakhstan in September, the country's presidency said on Monday, where he will participate in an inter-faith dialogue.

During a video conference with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the pope "confirmed his official visit to Kazakhstan as well as his participation in the Seventh Congress of World and Traditional Religions" scheduled for September 14 and 15, the presidency said in a statement.

The first edition of the congress, aimed at promoting dialogue between religions, was held in 2003.

Kazakhstan is close to Russia, which is waging a military offensive in Ukraine against which the pontiff has spoken out several times.

Kazakhstan was rocked in January by deadly riots that plunged the country into a political crisis unseen since independence after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

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