Two heads of state visited the Vatican this Friday: the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and the president of Kazakhstan, Qassimm-Jomart Tokayev.
For Petro, who has commanded Colombia since August 2022, it was his first visit to the Vatican. After the meeting with Francis, the first pope in Latin America, the left-wing politician also spoke with the “Vatican Foreign Minister”, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.
A Vatican statement recognizes the good relations between Colombia and the Vatican and the cooperation between the Church and State in Colombia in the areas of dialogue, social justice and reconciliation. The migratory phenomenon and environmental protection were also discussed.
Petro with the Pope
Vatican has confidence in the peace process in Colombia
The Vatican is extremely interested in the peace process in Colombia. After the historic 2016 peace agreement, which more or less ended decades of bloody civil war, Pope Francis traveled to Colombia in 2017 to promote the country's internal pacification process.
President of Kazakhstan with Francisco
Kazakhstan: Committed to interfaith dialogue
Unlike the case of Colombia, the second state guest who visited the Vatican this Friday was, so to speak, an old acquaintance of Francis: the President of Kazakhstan, Tokayev, visited the Pope in Astana in 2022. The head of Central Asian State also spoke first to Francisco and then to Gallagher.
The Vatican's binding declaration particularly emphasizes the cooperation of both parties in the area of interreligious dialogue. Kazakhstan regularly hosts an interfaith dialogue forum, and the Pope participated in one in 2022. Regional and international conflicts and the urgency of commitment to peace and stability were also discussed.
(Vatican news – sk)
