Today, the XII International Economic Summit ‘Russia – Islamic World: KazanSummit 2021’ started in Kazan. The leitmotif of the current forum was conscious consumption, and the key topics of the business program included partner finance, halal industry, youth diplomacy, medicine, sport, creative industries, export development, entrepreneurship and investment.
The traditional summit’s events include the OIC Youth Entrepreneurship Forum and the Forum of Young Diplomats of the OIC countries. The pearl of the cultural program became Modest Fashion Day, which was held with the support of the National Fashion Chamber. During the two thematic sessions well-known Russian and foreign experts discussed the prospects of decent fashion and measures to support talented designers.
The honorary guests of the Summit included Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates Thani Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister of Investment of the Kyrgyz Republic Shykmamatov Almambet Nasyrkanovich, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sameer Abdullah Nass, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism of the Kingdom of Bahrain Zayed Alzayani, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Chief Advisor to the President of the Turkish Republic Mucahit Kucukyilmaz, SMIIC Secretary General Ihsan Ovüt, President of World Halal Summit Council Yunus Ete and others.
Russia Halal Expo
One of the key events was the opening of the Russia Halal Expo, which was attended by Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Chairman of the Group of Strategic Vision ‘Russia – Islamic World’ and Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
‘Despite all the peculiarities of the situation, we have an opportunity to meet and discuss ideas in a face-to-face format. We will be able to speak about how important to open up Russia, to integrate into a new world, into new opportunities, and to talk about our interaction with Islamic countries. We can also discuss the needs of 20 million Muslims who live in Russia, how they are changing and how our economy must adapt to meet these new needs. Halal is a fast-growing sector of the economy, with both domestic and export potential. This includes issues of investment, trade, fashion, culture, creative industries and others. I promise that the ideas and projects that are born here, will be carefully studied and supported at the federal level’, Reshetnikov noted.
Rustam Minnikhanov, in his turn, said that cooperation between Russia and the Islamic world is a priority determined by President Vladimir Putin. ‘We will make it as comfortable and useful as possible within the framework of our forum. I thank each of you that despite the pandemic, you are able to be with us. Something will be in an online format. Take care, health is the most important thing’, Minnikhanov said.
This year, more than 100 exhibitors presented their products and services at the fair. The categories are diverse: food, medicine, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, clothes, decorations, tourism, IT, finance and many others. Apart from Russian companies, representatives from Turkey, Indonesia, Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan organized their own stands.
The Russia Halal Expo venue also offers various master classes, such as Tatar cooking and scarf tying.
We would like to remind that the Russia Halal Expo is one of the largest halal industry venues in Russia. The aim of the exhibition is to develop trade, economic and socio-cultural ties between Russian regions and countries of the Islamic world, to present the potential of the halal segment of the economy, and to evaluate halal production and service of Russian and foreign suppliers.
The first halal marketplace
One of the key events at the Summit these days is the presentation of the first Islamic marketplace. According to Talia Minullina, Chief Executive of Tatarstan Investment Development Agency, such a project, already called All-islam, is needed, since none of marketplaces currently in operation is ready to take responsibility for the halal nature of the goods presented on the market.
It is worth noting that creation of the halal marketplace is a wholly private initiative.
Halal: experience and perspective
The halal industry became one of the major venues of the annual Summit. Thus, for instance, one of the sections discussed the experience and perspective of its development in Russia and OIC countries. It is noteworthy that the growth of the global halal market offers great opportunities for Russian producers in the halal industry. Artyom Malkhasyan, Deputy Director of the Department for International Cooperation and Export Development of Agricultural Products of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, is convinced of this.
‘The halal market is growing every year, with more than USD 30 billion in global halal imports in 2020. For us it is a fairly capacious market, which is of interest, a significant share of exports is halal products. In the world, the main imports of halal products include meat, dairy products, ready-made products and confectionary. In these groups of products, the Russian Federation can adequately compete with other producers of these products’, the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture said. He also added that the Russian Ministry of Agriculture is actively involved in the promotion of Russian halal products in Africa, the Gulf and South-East Asia, in particular with Indonesia and Malaysia, which are large consumers of halal products.
In his turn, Nail Zalakov, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan, noted that the region has been paying special attention to the export of halal products since 2020, as Tatarstan has many partners in the Middle East and in Arab countries. Chicken meat has become the main export product. Duck and turkey meat is also supplied abroad. Nail Zalakov said that the halal market is not easy due to the fact that each importing country has its own requirements for it.
The importance of taking into account these requirements and obtaining the relevant certificates was also stressed by business representatives attending the session. In this regard, SMIIC Secretary General Ihsan Ovüt noted that it was national standardization that enabled free trade between countries. According to Ihsan Ovüt, the main problem in the trade of halal products is national disagreement in recognition of certain standards. He told that in Turkey, where he was born, different companies were trying to determine which products were halal and which were not. Ihsan Ovüt also expressed his hope that different standards could be brought together into a unified system. ‘I believe that we should be together. And God willing, a new document will be the next step in the work of SMIIC. It will be a certain pyramid made of accreditations and certifications, mutual recognition. We should not limit ourselves to personal interests. We should have common interests’, Ihsan Ovüt said.
It is also planned to discuss the unified standardization of halal products and popularization of the halal life style. Apart from it, representatives of halal certification centres, businessmen and concerned people will discuss perspectives of the halal industry in Russia and opportunities for Russian halal exports, the role of halal industry as a soft power of Islam, promotion of halal products on marketplaces, and will exchange their experience in implementing halal management system in large companies.
Medicine and the pandemic
New realities are dictating their own conditions. Thus, the discussion of health issues in the context of COVID 19 spread became a new venue within the framework of the Summit. The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation and the Health Committee of the Council of Muftis of Russia with the support of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Tatarstan organized a session on ‘Medicine in the Conditions of COVID-19’ at the XII International Economic Summit ‘Russia – Islamic World: KazanSummit’. According to the very organizers, the aim of the event is to establish a dialogue with representatives of the international medical community on topical issues of prevention and combating COVID-19. The participants share their experience in the use of innovative approaches in treatment and rehabilitation of patients with COVID-19, the transfer of medical technologies, vaccination, the application of digital technologies in health care and other developments.
It is now clear to everybody that the pandemic has influenced global health care. The new coronavirus infection has not been studied completely yet. New strains are emerging, and the global medical community must join forces to fight it. To date, almost 180 million people in the world and 5 million people in Russia have been infected with the coronavirus infection. Over 130 thousand people have passed away. A number of people who have contracted the disease are facing serious complications, leading to disruption of normal body functions. Such patients require complex postcovid rehabilitation.
The event is attended by government and public health officials, heads of international medical and pharmacological organizations, doctors, experts and scholars from Russia, Indonesia, Lebanon, Bahrain and Turkey. During the day there will presentations on topics such ‘Independent Assessment of the Safety and Efficacy of the Sputnik V Vaccine’, ‘COVID-19 and Children’, ‘Neurorehabilitation Experience of Patients with Cognitive and Functional Decline after COVID 19’, ‘COVID-19. Treatment Experience in Turkey’, ‘Innovative Technologies for Patients with COVID-19’ and others.
Youth diplomacy
Youth diplomacy traditionally occupies a special place in the KazanSummit Economic Forum program. This year, the V Forum of OIC Young Diplomats has been launched, bringing together representatives of Russian regions and countries of the Muslim world within the walls of Kazan Expo Exhibition Centre. The participants are united by the desire not only to consolidate ties between their countries, but also to develop youth diplomacy and work out successful practices to maintain today’s national and religious diversity.
According to the organizers, the aim of the forum is to develop close interpersonal contacts between young diplomats, international experts and representatives of the young generation of OIC countries, to create on this basis the atmosphere of common interests, mutual understanding and trust between the youth of our countries and mutually beneficial cooperation in the long term.
It is no coincidence that this forum takes place in Tatarstan each year. According to Grigory Karasin, a member of the Federation Council Committee of the Russian Federation, Tatarstan has huge potential in the sphere of national and youth policy. ‘The Republic of Tatarstan is an example of interethnic and inter-religious dialogue that needs to be worked on every day’, the speaker highlighted.
‘The fifteen-year period of close contacts between Russia and Islamic countries has been full of important events for our country and the OIC member states. Russia and Islamic countries have drawn closer on the basis of balanced approaches to a number of problems of the modern world order, confirming by the example of their interaction the possibility of conflict-free cooperation between civilizations in the conditions of a multipolar world’ Grigory Karasin stressed.
Ramazan Abdulatipov, Russia’s permanent representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation also welcomed the participants. He assured that the Kazan Summit, which had become a traditional event, was one of the most effective venues in the Islamic world. ‘It is hard to think of another venue that would be so fundamentally engaged in the issues of the Islamic world and Russia’s cooperation with Muslim countries. And this is not only about economics and diplomacy, but also about culture, art and science. I would like to separately thank Kazan for setting a good example for all of us’, Abdulatipov stressed.
For two days, young representatives of Russian regions and countries of the Muslim world will exchange experiences, discuss pressing issues, as well as consider joint projects aimed at the consolidation of international and intercultural peace and harmony.
Information is a powerful weapon in capable hands
How should journalists cover the life of religious communities and tell about traditional religions of the peoples of Russia? What should be the information cooperation between Russia and the OIC countries like? These are just a few of the questions being raised at the International Economic Forum KazanSummit, which started on 28th of July.
The issue of media coverage of the religious community’s life has become particularly acute in recent years because of the increasing frequency of negative coverage. For instance, Bora Bayraktar, Executive Director of Anadolu, Turkey’s largest news agency, noted that there was a habit among journalists of reporting on events related to religion in a negative way. ‘We must understand that words have importance and power. When we cover events related to any religion, we should realize that it is necessary to be careful, especially when it comes to other people’s faith. And our young reporters must be explained by their older counterparts how to work with this agenda. We need to develop empathy and compassion rather than labeling’, Bayraktar noted.
In addition to it, the summit delegates will take part in the panel discussion ‘Implementation of Information Cooperation between Russia and Muslim Countries’, which will be held for the first time. The participants of the event will try to outline the potential of Russia’s interaction with Islamic countries and identify factors contributing to the improvement of Russia’s image on the world stage.
Mona Muteibia, Director General of the Tunis Africa Press news agency, Ali Hassan, Editor-in-Chief of the Egyptian MENA news agency, and Alexander Bikantov, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, have been invited as speakers. The discussion is also attended by Mohd Abdi, President of the Al-Sayed Adib Foreign Correspondents Association, Marandi Mohamed, Professor of Tehran University, Hazem Abdo, Head of International Relations Department of the Union of News Agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Younis Mjahed, President of the International Federation of Journalists, Doha Mustafa Assi, Member of Parliament of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Timur Shafir, Vice-President of the International Federation of Journalists, Head of International Department of the Russian Union of Journalists, Aydar Salimgaraev, Head of the Republican Agency for Press and Mass Communications ‘Tatmedia’ (Republic of Tatarstan).
The participants will identify specific areas and formats of cooperation between Russia and Muslim countries in the media sphere. Key issues for discussion will be the correct application of Islamic terminology, the image of Islam in the mass media, the development of the Muslim mass media through a broad dialogue with representatives of all faiths and secular society, the feminization of the Muslim media, and the topic of migration in the media.
Ilmira Gafiyatullina