A plenary meeting of the XV International Economic Forum “Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum 2024” on the topic “Financial and logistics infrastructure of Russia and the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)” was held in Kazan on May 17. The results of the forum were summed up at the plenary session: were made official addresses by high-ranking representatives of Russia, the OIC participating countries and its secretariat; was made an assessment of the joint achievements of Russia and the OIC countries in an extensive and diverse list of spheres of life in modern society on the basis of mutual respect, trust, and common values. Plans and prospects for the development of mutually beneficial relations between Russia and the OIC countries for the benefit of the world population were also identified as part of the harmonization of international processes and achieving a balance of sustainable global growth.
The following speakers took part in the meeting: Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk, Chairman of the Group of Strategic Vision “Russia - Islamic World” and Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, State Councilor of the Republic of Tatarstan and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue Mintimer Shaimiev, First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic Adylbek Kasymaliev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin, Minister of Economy of the Sultanate of Oman Said Bin Mohammed Al-Saqri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy of the UAE Abdullah Al-Saleh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Bagheri, Deputy Head of the Presidental Administration of the Russian Federation Magomedsalam Magomedov.
The plenary session began with a reading of the Quran performed by the Mufti of Tatarstan Kamil hazrat Samigullin. He read the first three verses of Surah Fath(Victory). It is noteworthy that during the performance on the stage monitors, the meeting participants were first shown these verses from the page of the Kazan handwritten Quran, which began to be written in 2022 in honor of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria. It was noted from the stage that “this undertaking demonstrates that Russia is a large part of the Islamic world: with a rich theological heritage and unique scientific schools, including calligraphy”.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin in his speech announced significant changes in cooperation between Russia and the countries of the Islamic world, including in logistics, that have occurred since last year’s forum. He recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin pays great attention to the decisions that are made based on the results of KazanForum 2024, as well as to what remains to be done in this direction.
“It is not for nothing that in one of his last addresses he set the task of reducing the passage of vehicles across borders to eight minutes. During this time, a number of relevant agreements were signed. In addition, the Moscow-Kazan highway was built, which shortened the route to the southeast by six hours. Our Kazakh colleagues are actively working, improving transport infrastructure, building new roads. There are also projects aimed at connecting Russia with Turkmenistan and Iran. We already have a railway connection with Iran. The tourist flow has increased several times during this time. In general, over the past year, trade turnover with the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation increased by 31 percent. And this is all the result of our work”, - Khusnullin noted during his speech.
Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin answered the question about the development of the North-South transport corridor, that this topic is currently being actively studied in all directions, and this route is a reality today. “In fact, the North-South corridor is divided into the western part, the eastern part, and there is a middle, so-called sea route. In the western part, the Russian Federation is now also taking quite big steps. Agreements have been signed with the Islamic Republic of Iran on the completion of the missing Astara- Rasht section, and this is all in the process, since the negotiation part has already been completed. As for the eastern part, the head of our state spoke about this in the last two supreme councils. We made a proposal to turn the Kazakh part into a large logistics hub”, - the speaker said.
In addition, Zhumangarin spoke about the Astana International Financial Center, noting the uniqueness of the site as a convenient place for locating companies and subsequent investment. “About 2,600 companies from 78 countries are registered. And 670 of them were registered last year. I would like to say what attracts companies to the International Financial Center. These are primarily international standards. That is, Kazakh legislation doesn’t apply on the territory of the International Financial Center. This is very important for the logistics companies with which we currently work”, - the speaker emphasized, noting the participation of many Russian companies. “Therefore, we invite other companies to Astana to the financial center site, where it is very convenient to work”, - concluded Zhumangarin.
Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk in his speech noted the shift in the center of economic growth from the West to the East and towards the global South. The speaker also recalled that, according to various sources, from 16 to 18 thousand restrictive measures have recently been introduced against Russia, which were taken by passing the UN Security Council.
“Sanctions are designed to restrain our economic development”, - Overchuk emphasized. At the same time, the speaker recalled that Russia occupies a unique geographical position in the north of Eurasia, so the country must use this advantage to effectively solve economic problems, despite sanctions.
“We are aimed at ensuring transport and logical connections of greater Eurasia. In this way, we intend to provide our producers with the best conditions for entering the markets of the global South. The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which unites five countries, is also working in this direction. An important area of work is concluding free trade agreements. Last year, a corresponding agreement was signed with Iran. The document will be useful to both the Islamic Republic and the EAEU countries. Negotiations are also underway on the introduction of free trade zones with a number of Islamic countries. Thus, we help each other develop new markets”, - the speaker noted.
Chairman of the GSV “Russia – Islamic World” and Rais of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov in his speech highly appreciated the constant support of Russia from the Islamic world. Rais of Tatarstan recalled that the republic has been actively working with the Islamic world since 2003, when Russian President Vladimir Putin in Malaysia came up with the initiative to grant Russia observer status in the OIC. Next year, the initiative, implemented in 2005, will be 20 years old.
“Since then, the Group of Strategic Vision “Russia-Islamic World” has begun working with Muslim countries. This work has always been carried out with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Administration of the President of Russia. We found such a good platform as Tatarstan and began to invite our partners here. Two years ago, Head of State Vladimir Putin decided that this was no longer a regional event, but a federal one. Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin has been appointed as Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Kazan Forum. Together we are already holding these events at a new level. The work of GSV’s also fits well into them”, - Minnikhanov noted.
Islamic banking, halal lifestyle, development of transport corridors, expansion of tourist contacts - these are the main areas of cooperation, which takes place under the auspices and with the support of the Russian leadership, the president, and the government. “Therefore, to say that the Kazan Economic Forum is an event of Tatarstan is not entirely correct. The Islamic world has always supported and supports Russia, and we highly appreciate this. Every year the scale of the forum is expanding, and we are doing everything to make it interesting for our partners”, - Rais of RT emphasized.
First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Adylbek Kasymaliev stated in his speech, that Kyrgyzstan and Russia are strategic partners, and this determines close trade and economic relations. He recalled that Russia ranks second among the main trading partners of Kyrgyzstan along with China and Kazakhstan. Over the past 4 years, the volume of mutual trade has doubled, exports - 2.7 times. In 2023, trade turnover amounted to $2.9 billion. “At the same time, we and Russia are aimed at increasing trade turnover to $5 billion. There is all the potential for this”, - the speaker emphasized.
In Kyrgyzstan, according to Kasymaliev, there are about 800 enterprises with Russian participation. Work is proceeding through the intergovernmental commission and the Kyrgyz-Russian interregional conference. The implementation of large infrastructure projects continues, and cooperation between state corporations in the energy sector is intensifying. In particular, the possibility of building a low-power nuclear power plant on the territory of the republic is being studied. There are also positive dynamics in investment cooperation.
The Minister of Economy of the Sultanate of Oman, Said Bin Mohammed Al-Saqri, spoke about how Russia and Oman cooperate in multilateral and bilateral formats. Economic cooperation is primarily aimed at concluding agreements on free trade zones. As for bilateral relations, cooperation in the field of investment is progressing well.
“There are certain frameworks that allow us to enter into cooperation, for example, in the field of protection and promotion of investments and other agreements. Over the past 50 years, OIC member countries have invested significantly in infrastructure, ports, including sea ports, and the logistics sector. This is a symbol of open free economic zones. Considering the fact that the geographical location of the OIC countries is very advantageous, many countries around the world understand this. And there is even a kind of competition in order to cooperate. We believe that agreements regarding transport corridors, including North-South, are a very important project that will help expand the scope of cooperation and investment. There are opportunities to link these projects with others, including private ones. The necessary foundations have already been laid for this cooperation. And we must continue to act, bring our legislation into line with these plans”, - the speaker noted.
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy of the UAE Abdullah Al-Saleh said in his speech that relations between the UAE and the Russian Federation are diverse and broad-based, and this is reflected by the high rates of foreign trade and mutual investment between the two countries. The speaker also noted that last year the UAE received one and a half million tourists from Russia.
Al-Saleh spoke about the UAE's large-scale investments in its own infrastructure and logistics services. “Today, the UAE has become third in the world in terms of re-export volume and seventeenth in the world in terms of export volume”, - the speaker emphasized. He also mentioned the reliability and solvency of the country's financial institutions that support its economy.
“There are various projects in the pharmaceutical and medical fields, in the field of space projects and renewable energy sources, in which the UAE seeks to invest jointly with Russia”, - the speaker also noted during his speech.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri, in turn, said that US threats and the use of sanctions against Iran and Russia put pressure on these countries. But thanks to the wisdom of state leaders, restrictions turned into opportunities for cooperation at a new level not only between Iran and Russia, but also among the countries of the Middle East region. He also noted that without cooperation and economic ties between countries it is impossible to achieve sustainable peace.
“Iran is a country that has every right to play a leading role in the region”, - the speaker emphasized.
Deputy Head of the Presidental Administration of the Russian Federation Magomedsalam Magomedov noted in his speech that Russia is a multinational and multi-religious country. “In this sense, Russia can also be called an Islamic country, because Muslims in our country are a very important, significant and respected part of Russian society”, - the speaker emphasized. And it is important that there is peace and harmony between representatives of all faiths.
Magomedov paid attention to the development of the North-South transport corridor, which can give an additional impetus to the economic potential of many regions of Russia.
Answering a question about maintaining unity in the country in the face of new challenges, Magomedov pointed to a clear system of state-national policy built by Russian President Vladimir Putin over the past 10 years. “The state makes sure that every nation, even the smallest, preserves itself, preserves its identity, its language, its culture, its history”, - Magomedov said. He noted that despite the colossal efforts made by Russia’s opponents in attempts to divide the state into dozens of small state entities, the level of all-Russian civic identity currently reaches 94 percent. “No one will be able to shake the unity of the Russian people and, as our President Vladimir Putin said, we are united and together we will win”, - the speaker emphasized.