The final communiqué of the first meeting of Group of strategic vision “Russia – Islamic World” that took place in Moscow on March, 27-28, 2006.
We – the representatives of Russia and a number of OIC member countries gathered in Moscow for the first meeting of Group of strategic vision “Russia – Islamic World”: President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov, Professor of Baku State University of Azerbaijan Vasim Mammadaliyev Mammadali oglu, former Prime Minister of Algeria Abdessalem Belaid, President of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Professor M. Shamsher Ali, Former Foreign Minister of Egypt Ahmed Maher Al Said, General Secretary of the Indonesian Ulema Council and Chairman of the Indonesian Muslim social organization “Muhammadiyah” Din Syamsuddin, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan, the representative of Iran Ayatollah Taskhiri, former Prime Minister of Yemen Abdel Karim al-Iryani, Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan on issues of cultural and humanitarian cooperation in the CIS, Ambassador at Large of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan D.K. Kaseinov, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Benelux CH.T. Aitmatov, Deputy Minister of Awqaf of Kuwait Adel Al-Falah, former Minister of Islamic Affairs of Morocco Abdel Kebir Allawi Medagri, General Director of the Diplomatic Institute of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates Yousef Al-Hassan, former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, Inam-ul-Haq, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Hassan Abdul Wali, Director of the State Complex “Kohi Vahdat” of Tajikistan S.Sh. Mirzoshoev, former Prime Minister of Tunisia Hedi Bakush, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Yasar Jakishev, Rector of Tashkent Islamic University of Uzbekistan A.B. Abdullayev, declare the following:
1. We note with satisfaction the process of stable positive development of relations between Russia and the OIC member countries. We believe that Russia’s accession in 2005 on the initiative of President Vladimir Putin to the Organization of the Islamic Conference as an observer, has given a new impetus to further expansion of fruitful relations between Russia and the OIC member countries in the political, trade-economic, cultural and other fields. It also promotes active communication between Russian Muslims and their co-religionists in the world. Further strengthening of this cooperation not only in the interests of Russia and the OIC member countries, but also contributes to the strengthening of international security as a whole.
Participants of the meeting believe that the combination of Russian capabilities and resources with the OIC member countries can become a real constructive factor of international politics and the global economy.
2. We note the closeness of the positions of Russia and OIC member states on many issues of international relations, including: preventing the proliferation of WMD, mutual respect for the rights of nations, along with their obligations under international treaties, recognition of the central role of the UN in addressing the key issues, including in the settlement of regional conflicts, the fight against drug trafficking, the need to coordinate joint efforts at liquidation the effects of environmental and natural disasters, as well as combating transnational terrorism and attempts to draw in the international community into a confrontation between different civilizations and cultures. The participants of the meeting are unanimous on the need to solve all the crises and conflicts only through political and diplomatic means.
In this connection the question of dialogue between civilizations acquires special importance and relevance. New problems are often born out of misunderstanding and ignorance, the consequence of which is alienation, not only between countries but also between entire nations, and sometimes between civilizations. Despite the existence of common values in all cultures around the world, it should be noted that there is uniqueness, self-worth of each civilization. Such feature: there is a wealth of all humanity, each nation carries its cultural, religious and historical experience, the world is interesting when it is diverse and consists of different colors. Experience show that human development is largely occurs due to the open dialogue of peoples and mutual cultural enrichment. In this way, common values for humanity are generated; tolerance, mutual respect and consideration of interests are cultivated.
The partnership among civilizations should be put on a broader base; become a matter not of individual organizations or individuals, but the entire civilized world.
The participants emphasize the role of the media in promoting understanding between different nations and religions.
3. The modern world is faced with an increasing number of global challenges, many of which are associated with injustice and inequality, and double standards. One of the consequences of these diseases in our society is transnational terrorism.
We are convinced that terrorism cannot be identified with any religion, especially with Islam; no great religion calls for violence, murder of civilians, wars, they all preach good, tolerance and mutual understanding.
Terrorism is a universal threat and we can deal with it only by joint efforts. The fight against global terrorism has become a vital imperative, it should not divide but unite countries, and security in our time can only be global. In this respect, Russia, the OIC member countries committed to the idea of equal interaction of civilizations – strategic partners in the struggle for the achievement of this noble goal.
The participants welcome the initiative of Custodian of the Two Islamic shrines, King of Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud to establish a counter-terrorism center under the auspices of the UN.
We believe that the confrontation on religious grounds, as well as the clash of civilizations, which today are discussed so much are formidable challenges of the modern world. Preventing a confrontation – this is our main task, because otherwise it leads humanity to disaster.
Therefore we urge to add course on pluralism, tolerance and respect for different cultures into the world educational program. It is worth thinking about the special resolution of the UN General Assembly in this regard. The implementation of this project would be a practical contribution to the process of dialogue of civilizations, not in words but in deeds.
The participants of the meeting are looking forward to the High Level report of the Group “Alliance of Civilizations”; they support efforts of Turkey and Spain in this regard and hope that it will become a good basis for increasing cooperation between different cultures and religions. In this regard, we appeal to the UN Secretary General with a proposal to explore the possibility of creating on a constant basis kind of advisory body – “Civilizations Council” to promote the ideas of inter-civilization partnership, which will undoubtedly help to achieve universal peace and prosperity will be a major step in promoting mutual understanding and respect, in eliminating ignorance, suspicion, hostility, extremism and violence.