After the IX International Conference of the Group of Strategic Vision “Russia - Islamic World”, the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan and member of the GSV Radiy Khabirov shared his opinion on the importance and relevance of the presented platform for discussing various issues of cooperation between Russia, the Islamic world, and in particular Bashkortostan. The conference on the topic “Russia - Islamic World: Fair Multipolar World Order and Secure Development” was held on May 16, 2024 in Kazan as part of the economic summit “KazanForum 2024”.
GSV “Russia – Islamic World” has been operating for more than 20 years as a platform for discussing existing problems. According to Radiy Khabirov, the event demonstrates the consolidation of states in which Islam is widespread. The Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan noted the presence at the conference of a large number of representatives of the diplomatic corps of Muslim countries. Radiy Khabirov also emphasized the importance of participation in the event for the Republic of Bashkortostan, primarily in foreign economic activity.
“We are making a sharp turn to the east. As I already said, 25% of the foreign trade turnover of the Republic of Bashkortostan is the countries of the Central Asian region, the other 25% is China, and a fairly large share belongs to trade turnover with Turkey. Active work is underway with Iranian colleagues”, - Khabirov said. Speaking about the need for the republic to search for new sales markets, technological solutions and competencies, the head of Bashkortostan said the following: “We go there and open doors where they are waiting for us, where they are ready to cooperate with us constructively and honestly”.
Radiy Khabirov noted that Bashkortostan is a Muslim republic, where more than 2 million people profess Islam. In this regard, Bashkortostan faces the task of actively participating and working with the national republics of the Russian Federation, where live a large number of adherents of Islam.
“Therefore, this event has cultural and humanitarian components, but now we are primarily concerned with ensuring the economic development of our republic, which cannot be done without deep cooperation with other partners”, - the head of Bashkortostan emphasized.
When asked about the role of regions in strengthening relations between Russia and the Islamic world, Radiy Khabirov pointed to the self-sufficiency of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the cultural, social, humanitarian, foreign trade, and foreign economic spheres. In this regard, each region has its own vector of interaction.
“The Republic of Bashkortostan has a representative office as part of the Trade Representation of Russia. Accordingly, our representative office also operates in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and the People’s Republic of China. We are now working on opening its branch in the United Arab Emirates, thereby realizing our powers to the fullest. And for me personally, as a leader, this is, first of all, economic development within the framework of international trade. Therefore, the active participation of Bashkortostan as a Russian region works for the benefit of cooperation between Russia and the Islamic world”, - Khabirov explained.
Answering a question about the nature of the modern fight against extremism, the head of Bashkortostan cited two theses. Radiy Khabirov called extremism a “dangerous infection” and noted the impossibility of fighting this destructive phenomenon alone, since the effectiveness of resistance to national and religious extremism is built on the basis of international agreements.
“Secondly, the fact is that the main idea of the conference, as for me, is the unity of the Islamic world and Russia. You might have noticed with what activity, with what meanness they are trying to split the Muslim world and Russia. They are even trying to create a split between Muslims and Orthodox Christians within Russia. But, you know, first of all, this is repelled by the very long-term coexistence in our country of Muslims and Orthodox people, people of other nationalities and religions”, - Khabirov shared.
The head of Bashkortostan noted the early origin of manifestations of extremism on the territory of the Russian Federation, citing the terrorist attack in Moscow that occurred in March of this year. Khabirov also recalled the widespread belief that terrorism has no nationality and religion, and emphasized the need for a joint fight against extremism.
“If you press on the spring, it will shoot with double force”, - Khabirov answered a journalist’s question about the strength of the relationship between Russia and the Islamic world in the face of pressure from unfriendly states and the prospects for such cooperation. The head of Bashkortostan noted that despite the pressure, interaction between the parties is intensifying, since at the moment impressive efforts, including large investments, are being directed to the east.
“Although we used to be fascinated by Western states. Thus, this is a normal process: we are moving to where they are waiting for us, where they want to cooperate with us”, - concluded Radiy Khabirov.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation