Tajikistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Farhod Salim, is attending the National Prayer Breakfast that is being held in Washington today, an official source at the Tajik MFA told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, some 3,000 guests (politicians, businesspeople, public figures and religious leaders) from 100 countries of the world have been invited to this event.
Last year, members of Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) participated in the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, the source said.
Meanwhile, this year's event is an opportunity for dozens of Russian politicians and public figures. According the Russian business newspaper RBC, as many as 60 representatives from Russia's religious and political elite are expected to attend the National Prayer Breakfast, more than three times last year's number.
The National Prayer Breakfast is organized by the Fellowship Foundation, a nonprofit religious organization designed to bring together leaders from the political, religious and business realm, on behalf of the US Congress.
The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., usually on the first Thursday in February. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide. The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has taken place since 1953 and has been held at least since the 1980s at the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue NW.
The National Prayer Breakfast, held in the Hilton's International Ballroom, is typically attended by some 3,500 guests, including international invitees from over 100 countries. It is hosted by members of the United States Congress and is organized on their behalf by The Fellowship Foundation, a Christian organization. Initially called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, the name was changed in 1970 to the National Prayer Breakfast.
It is designed to be a forum for the political, social, and business elite to assemble and build relationships. Since the inception of the National Prayer Breakfast, several U.S. states and cities and other countries have established their own annual prayer breakfast events.
Every U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in the annual event.
