On 17 September 2015, a lunch was held in Astana under the auspices of Imangali Tasmagambetov, then Minister of Defence of Kazakhstan. Organised as part of CPFA’s broader programme on peace and reconciliation, the lunch brought together senior statesmen, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, and international figures for an informal but substantive exchange.

Participants included Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and human rights advocate; Rajendra Pachauri, who accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the IPCC; César Gaviria, former President of Colombia; and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former Prime Minister of Spain. Their interventions highlighted different regional perspectives on peacebuilding, reconciliation, and the prevention of conflict.

The lunch provided a platform for candid dialogue outside the formal conference setting, fostering exchanges that linked European, Latin American, and international voices with Kazakh leadership. By convening such a diverse group of figures under the auspices of Imangali Tasmagambetov, the gathering reinforced Kazakhstan’s role in promoting dialogue on global peace and stability.