The meeting between the Holy Father and the president lasted about 20 minutes. At its conclusion, the president gave Benedict XVI a miniature of the pyramid-shaped Peace Palace in Astana. “It looks heavenward,” he told the Pope, who said, “It is place of harmony.”

“During the course of the cordial discussions, attention turned to questions concerning the economic crisis in the light of the Encyclical ‘Caritas in Veritate’, to inter-religious dialogue and to the promotion of peace, on the eve of Kazakhstan's presidency of the OSCE,” a statement by Vatican Information Service said.

“At a bilateral level, consideration was given, with satisfaction, to the good relations that exist between the Holy See and the Republic of Kazakhstan, and to certain themes concerning the current situation of life in the country. Mention was also made of the peaceful coexistence between faithful of various religions, and the hope expressed that believers may have an ever more active role in the life of the nation and in favour of the common good.”