On 22nd of April, 2021, the first meeting of the Organizing Committee of the World Conference on Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue was held in Moscow. It was attended by the first Deputy of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation, Director of the Center for Islamic Studies of St. Petersburg State University, Executive Secretary of the Muslim International Forum, Doctor of Theology Damir Mukhetdinov, who was a member of the organizing committee, which was approved by the President of Russia, with the blessing of Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin.

The agenda of the meeting included issues of foreign policy and cooperation with UN structures in the context of preparations for the conference. A report on this theme was made by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Ivanov. The possible contribution of Russia, as a multinational and multicultural state, to the semantic content of the conference was reported by the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alla Manilova. FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov also participated in the work of the organizing committee. As a result of the meeting, it was agreed to hold the conference in St. Petersburg on 16-18 of May 2022.

The content of this event was discussed in January this year at a meeting of the Interreligious Council of Russia, where the special guest was the High Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Alliance of Civilizations, Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos. At the same time, the main concept of the event was defined. Damir Mukhetdinov, in particular, stressed that the organization of such a World Conference testifies to the serious attention of Russia and the international community involved in its preparation to traditional religions and issues of dialogue and cooperation of civilizations.