During his visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov met with Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs of Bahrain.
Rustam Minnikhanov thanked the sheikh for the invitation to take part in the forum, as well as for his visit to Tatarstan to participate in the events marking the 1,100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam in the Volga Bulgaria.
"The Russian Federation attaches great importance to interaction with Bahrain. Our country views the Kingdom as an important trade, economic and investment partner in the Middle East region," the president of the Republic of Tatarstan addressed the sheikh.
Rustam Minnikhanov noted that Tatarstan in turn seeks to contribute to the development of cooperation with the Kingdom within the framework of Russia-Bahrain relations.
"Our republic maintains active ties with the countries of the Islamic world. We have established cooperation with such authoritative international institutions as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Islamic Development Bank, the OIC Youth Forum. We do a lot of work through the Group of Strategic Vision "Russia - Islamic World", which I chair by order of President Vladimir Putin," said Rustam Minnikhanov.
The chairman of the GSV thanked the sheikh for the active work within the Group.
During the meeting the parties also discussed the prospects of cooperation. According to the president of the Republic of Tatarstan, the republic's industrial enterprises are capable of satisfying Bahrain's interest in a variety of goods. Rustam Minnikhanov invited Bahraini companies to participate in investment projects in Tatarstan.
"Bahrain is one of the financial centers of the Middle East. Tatarstan, for its part, is a pilot region in Russia to introduce the principles of Islamic banking and financing," the president of Tatarstan said.
In turn, the sheikh introduced the participants of the meeting to Rustam Minnikhanov and invited all representatives of the Council for Islamic Affairs to talks with the president of Tatarstan. "On behalf of myself and our Council, I would like to thank you for this meeting," the sheikh said.
"We are also very eager to develop our relations. Regarding the religious line, we have achievements, especially within the framework of the "Russia - Islamic World". This group has a great role in the Islamic world," stressed the chairman of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs of Bahrain. - "We want to express our gratitude for the attitude towards our Muslims"brothers in Russia."
The sheikh noted that he would continue to work to strengthen cooperation on the economic front as well.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan
Based on materials from the Press Service of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan