A meeting was held between Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan and the Akim of Almaty E.A. Dosayev

October 3, 2024. Almaty. A meeting was held between Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan and the Akim of the metropolis Erbolat Askarbekovich Dosayev in the Akimat of the Southern capital.

The head of the city's executive authority congratulated the Head of the Metropolitan District on the 35th anniversary of his archpastoral ordination. The mayor noted: "As the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Christians of Kazakhstan, you make a colossal contribution to the preservation and strengthening of public harmony. Under your leadership, the Church has achieved significant success, including the transformation of the Almaty Theological Seminary, the opening of the spiritual and cultural center named after Metropolitan Joseph, large-scale restoration of the Ascension Cathedral, as well as the creation of a temple and monument to the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky".

The archpastor told Yerbolat Askarbekovich about a significant historical date that marks the current year for Orthodox Kazakhstanis - the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Astana and Almaty diocese. The Metropolitan Bishop emphasized that the President of Kazakhstan K.-Zh.K. Tokayev sent his greetings on the occasion of the celebration, in which, it was noted that "the humanitarian and educational activities of the Metropolitan District make a valuable contribution to the development of interfaith dialogue, strengthening the unity and solidarity of our people."

The head of the Metropolitan District informed the Akim about the bringing to Kazakhstan, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', of the relics of a saint especially revered by the Orthodox people - the blessed nun Matrona of Moscow. The hierarch noted that in Astana, over 20 thousand people bowed to the shrine in two days, meanwhile in Alma-Ata, in four days, since September 30, the flow of pilgrims to the relics of the blessed nun has not stopped almost around the clock.

The Akim of the Southern capital informed Metropolitan Alexander about the activities of the metropolis' governance and, in particular, about the implementation of the project "Program for the Development of the City of Alma-Ata until 2025 and Medium-Term Prospects until 2030". According to E.A. Dosayev, the "Development Program" involves 7 main areas: comfortable urban environment, sustainable economic growth, management of urbanization, social sustainability and stability, green city, Alma-Ata - smart city, safe city.

At the meeting, Erbolat Askarbekovich spoke about solving the problems of developing the cultural and tourist cluster of Alma-Ata and including religious sites in the programs of popular tourist routes. As the akim noted, the economic development of the metropolis is inextricably linked with the growth of its tourist attractiveness, hence for this purpose, a study "Portrait of a tourist" is conducted annually in Alma-Ata, which helps to understand better the target audience, including socio-demographic characteristics, purpose of visit and duration of stay.

The meeting participants discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest. The conversation was about cooperation between the city administration and the Alma-Ata diocese in strengthening the spiritual and moral foundations of the lives of citizens, preserving the cultural and historical heritage.

It was noted that constructive dialogue between the executive authority and the leading traditional faiths of the Republic - Islam of the Hanafi madhhab and Orthodox Christianity - was and remains an indispensable condition for maintaining interreligious peace and interethnic harmony in the metropolis, which in turn serves as one of the important factors of socio-economic development.

At the end of the conversation, which took place in a friendly atmosphere, Metropolitan Alexander and Erbolat Askarbekovich exchanged wishes for health and success in their work.

As a gift to the Head of the Metropolitan District, the Akim presented a painting with an Almaty landscape by the famous Kazakhstani artist A.F. Utkin.