The first Soviet diplomats who managed to establish close economic, political, cultural and educational contact with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the people who turned the Soviet diplomacy upside down and stood at the origins of its national character – these are such personalities as Karim Khakimov and Nazir Torekulov. The international video conference “At the Origins of Modern Diplomatic Relations with the Islamic World: life and fate of K.A. Khakimov and N.T. Torekulov” was devoted to these giants.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference organizing committee decided to hold the event online. The moderator was Ramazan Abdulatipov, Permanent Representative of Russia to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. According to him, personalities such as Karim Khakimov and Nazir Torekulov cannot be separated.
Russian Permanent Representative to the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation Ramazan Abdulatipov
“These are the people who replaced and mutually complemented each other in their difficult position. Their joint efforts enabled the Soviet Union to establish and strengthen relations with nascent Saudi Arabia in various areas of life”.
Ramazan Abdulatipov noted that what the Group is doing today and what diplomats are involved in is the continuation of Khakimov’s and Torekulov’s work who gave us good support and space to operate.
“One of our main tasks today is to restore the influence which the Soviet Union used to have in the Arab world. Of course, active work is under way in this direction, but it should be strengthened and made even more qualitative. The first steps in this direction were taken by Khakimov and Torekulov. Indeed, being in Jeddah, near Mecca, is Russia’s representation in the Islamic world”.
In his turn, Deputy Chairman of the Strategic Vision Group “Russia – Islamic World” Farit Mukhametshin highlighted the fact that today one of the key directions of the Group’s work is the study of historical chronicles, including the period of formation of the Soviet state, building relations with the countries of the Muslim East, as well as cooperation between Soviet diplomats and Muslim spiritual boards.
Deputy Chairman of the Strategic Vision Group “Russia – Islamic World” Farit Mukhametshin
“Studying Karim Khakimov’s and Nazir Torekulov’s life and activities allows us to complete the picture of that time and to see the progress in the development of relations between the two states. Karim Khakimov and Nazir Torekulov were the first heads of the Soviet diplomatic missions, working in a number of countries of the Arab world. They left a bright trace in the history of the Soviet Union and stood at the origins of national and Soviet diplomacy”.
Mukhametshin also took the opportunity to announce a number of events to be held to mark the 15th anniversary of the accession of the Russian Federation to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
“In June, the book by Oleg Ozerov dedicated to Karim Khakimov’s activities will be published. Here the author combines both literature and journalism, as well as includes the results of scientific research, highlighting not only the personality of Khakimov himself, but also adding his own view of the past”.
In his speech Tair Mansurov, a member of the Board on Energy and Infrastructure of the Eurasian Economic Commission, expressed his gratitude to Evgeny Primakov, who was at the origin of the Group. In his opinion, it was Primakov’s interest and authority that he was able to gain access to the closed archives and to study all available information on Nazir Torekulov. Later, all this resulted in the writing of a book that was approved by Crown Prince Faisal, who considered Torekulov not only a close friend but also a brother.
Member of the Board on Energy and Infrastructure of the Eurasian Economic Commission Tair Mansurov
“In turn, here, in the Republic of Kazakhstan, we do not forget about our great compatriot, the first Kazakh Soviet diplomat. We regularly hold conferences, books are published and young diplomatic shift grow on such examples”.
His colleague’s words were supported also by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation Oleg Ozerov, who spoke in more detail about his work on the book dedicated to the personality and political activities of Karim Khakimov.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation Oleg Ozerov
“In the East, in difficult periods of history people tend to address aqsakals, elders. And we should pay tribute to the immense work that our predecessors did, making their work our support so that we could rely on this multifaceted experience. Only in this case, we will be able to count on a great future, worthy of continuing their work. The principles which were the basis of their professional activities, we instill in the young generation even today and take the reference point on this. I think you will agree that it takes a lot of courage in order to defend the need to strengthen relations with the Muslim world. Despite their importance, they spoke not only with kings, with chiefs, but also with ordinary people”.
Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Askar Musinov
Deputy Chairman of the Association of Russian Diplomats Andrey Baklanov
Andrey Baklanov, Deputy Chairman of the Association of Russian Diplomats, made a proposal to work together by joining forces. He also noted that today’s students study by the example of such distinguished diplomats and authoritative personalities.
The participants of the conference agreed that it was necessary to publish a book about Khakimov and Torekulov, who made a significant contribution to the development of relations between the USSR, Saudi Arabia and the Arab world in general. The Saudi side was also invited to take part in publishing the book.
We would like to remind that the conference was dedicated to the 15th anniversary of accession of the Russian Federation to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Among the organizers there was the Permanent Mission of Russia to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) together with the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Saudi Arabia and the Strategic Vision Group “Russia – Islamic World”, as well as the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The conference was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Strategic Vision Group “Russia – Islamic World” Farit Mukhametshin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation Oleg Ozerov, member of the Board on Energy and Infrastructure of the Eurasian Economic Commission Tair Mansurov, Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Askar Musinov and many others.
Ilmira Gafiyatullina