Rustam Minnikhanov takes part in the inauguration of Kazan as the Youth Capital of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 2022
On March 15, at the Reception House of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Kseniya Razuvayeva, Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin and other officials took part in the inauguration of the city of Kazan as the Youth Capital of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 2022.
Welcoming the invited ambassadors and honored guests, Minnikhanov drew attention to the fact that for the first time in history this status is assigned to an observer country. “This is especially symbolic in the year of the celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria. The historic date is of great importance for all Muslims,” Tatarstan President said.
Minnikhanov continued that on May 19-21, festive events dedicated to the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria will be organized in Tatarstan. A meeting of the Russia - Islamic World Strategic Vision group, the international economic summit «Russia - Islamic World: KazanSummit» and other events will take place in the republic.
In his turn, Lavrov emphasized that Kazan has historically been a place of peaceful coexistence of different cultures, and the work of Tatarstan President under the Strategic Vision Group continues to make a great contribution to strengthening friendly and business relations between Russia and the Islamic world.
The Youth Capital of the Organization is a status that is awarded to a city for one year, during which the city-winner gets the opportunity to demonstrate the best practices in developing the economic, social and political activity of young people. At the end of 2021, the board meeting of the Youth Forum of the Organization decided to assign the status of «Youth capital 2022» to the city of Kazan.