- How effective are events like KazanSummit to improve relations with the countries of Islamic world? And which areas, in your opinion, require strengthening in Russia's contacts with Islamic countries, besides the realization of economic interests?
- Relations with any country, especially with a large group of countries, Muslim countries represent a very serious segment of the world community, and require not only Government efforts. In modern life, these efforts must necessarily be supported by public support, the support of the business community, rely on the consensus of the public opinion, on the information resource.
Therefore, such forms as Kazansummit play a very serious role. They mobilize the very support I’m talking about, in addition, they serve as a meeting place for Russian Representatives of Business, the Public, Science, the Clergy with their Foreign Colleagues. There is no moving forward of relationships now without lively communication,. And of course in those areas specifically, about which you have spoken, the serious study is also necessary. According to the economy, Kazansummit has been arising as an economic Forum and basically it is still the same. Although it is a dialogue platform, i.e. an umbrella that covers other areas of dialogue. But in the economic track it is important that the available studies have already received sufficient development. I mean, above all, Islamic finance, which Kazansummit has been dealing with from the very beginning.
Now this conversation is not about getting acquainted with this phenomenon, and not even about the possibilities of establishing Islamic finance in Russia, but talking about specific details, about the necessity to change the legal regulation, this is also talking about which Foreign Partners may be present in this cooperation, not theoretically and practically through their Representatives who come here, representing their countries, Sovereign funds, International Organizations. Any kind of cooperation is multifaceted, it begins with a study of demand, and supply is formed from demand. It always happens in a market economy. Everything happens here. And now there has just been an interesting event organized by Sberbank, a pioneer in the promotion of Islamic finance in Russia. It holds this kind of event every time at the Kazansummit meeting. We hope that we will get more concrete results from these developments. Without rushing ahead, without fantasizing, to get concrete actions that act better than advertising.
- You, being the Special Representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Interaction with organizations of Muslim countries, could you please reveal what role the Public Diplomacy currently plays in relations with the countries of the Muslim world?
- I will add one story to the economic topic. In addition to Islamic finance, the discussion at the Kazansummit Forum has always paid close attention to the halal industry. And here it is important to understand that it is not only about how to meet the needs of the Muslim part of our country, this is also important, but we are talking about those opportunities, they are very great, when the halal sector can be part of our exports. This should and can be achieved because many non-Islamic countries are large exporters of halal products, including foodstuffs to the countries of the Muslim world. And speech is about the remote countries. Russia is directly a neighbor of the Islamic world, Russia, which has such a large percentage of Muslims in its population, should find its place here. I think that this will happen and we will come out when discussing the topic of halal from talking about the economic needs of Muslims to the formation of the appropriate direction of our economy as a whole and our external economic relations.
About Public Diplomacy. Of course, I began to say that the concept of the GSV "Russia - the Islamic world" included, among other things, the need to support state efforts to bring Russia closer to these countries, to develop relations with them from the general public. Fortunately for us in Russia there is a large sector in our society which has a lively and especially great interest in the development of our relations with foreign Muslim countries. What could be the subject of discussion within this public diplomacy?
Firstly, the problems that worry Russia and our partners in the Islamic world at the same time. There are many such problems. This is the current alignment, the need to make it more fair and democratic. This is an issue of the relationship between civilizations, the need to translate these relations into harmony, avoiding collisions, about which much has been said, it is the need to protect and preserve the legal principle of international life when there are attempts on it.
Both Russia and Muslim countries are firmly committed to the fact that international communication should be based on a legal basis, moving on the principles of justice and equality. It follows from the religious preferences of the population of Russia, the population of Muslim countries. So, there is something to talk about. In addition, Public Diplomacy faces even simpler tasks. If you look at how we know about Muslim countries, especially what they know about Russia, we cannot consider this level of knowledge to be sufficient. It is necessary to get to know each other better, to learn literature, philosophy, history more deeply, not to rely in this knowledge on the assessment of third parties.
Unfortunately, in Muslim countries Russia is judged by what they say about it in the West. Of course, this knowledge is not true, knowledge is unfriendly and distorted. It is necessary to bring the first-hand knowledge about us to Muslims abroad, and in this a huge role belongs to those people who enter into communication with people living in Muslim countries.
Group of Strategic Vision "Russia-Islamic World"