Rustam Minnikhanov: «KazanSummit» makes it possible to demonstrate broad possibilities of Russian regions with Muslim population to the Islamic world

On 19 May, in his welcoming speech at a plenary session of the International Economic Summit Russia – Islamic World: KazanSummit 2022 held in Kazan with participation of the State Counselor of the republic Mintimer Shaimiev and regional Prime Minister Aleksey Pesoshin and dedicated to the common consumption economy and the universal benefits of Halal, Tatarstan President  Rustam Minnikhanov reminded that it is for the 13th time that Kazan is welcoming guests of such authoritative and important international forum.

He expressed his gratitude to honorary guests and partners, representatives of businesses from foreign countries, Tatarstan and Russian regions, from federal and regional power bodies, diplomats, religious leaders, public organizations and mass media for taking part in the forum.

“These days Russia celebrates a remarkable date of the 1100th anniversary of adopting Islam by the Volga Bulgaria. This event played an important role in the development of our state and development of Islam as one of the main religions of the country. Islam, voluntarily adopted in 922 and preserved by many people of Russia through centuries is a rich heritage of Russian Muslims representing huge interest for the whole Muslim world. We are grateful to Russian President Vladimir Putin who supported giving the All-Russia status to this anniversary,” Minnikhanov said.

Tatarstan President told that the key topics of the current summit include such subjects as Islamic finances and partnership banking, Halal industry, development of export, smart consumption, entrepreneurship and investments, creative industries, diplomacy and other issues. “The forum comprises the Russia Halal Expo exhibition, The World Halal Day, machine building cluster forum, international forum of Chambers of Commerce and many other event  three days from 19 to 21 May and with participation of representatives of international organizations, public and financial institutes, diplomats, politicians and investors and entrepreneurs,” he added and underlined that May 21 will be a special event dedicated to the 1100th anniversary of adopting Islam by the Volga Bulgaria.

Speaking about the Strategic Vision Group of Russian-Islamic world, Minnikhanov said: “By the errand of the Russian President Vladimir Putin I am the head of the Russia – Islamic World Strategic Vision Group and here the KazanSummit is its efficient economic tool as the work of the group is done under the motto of development of interaction of the Russian Federation with the OIC member-countries. We are happy that last year we were able to hold a meeting of the Group in the Saudi Arabia and are extremely grateful to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques , His Majesty  the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for his hospitality and wonderful work environment. The next meeting of the group is held on 20 May in Kazan”.

Tatarstan President also informed that Kazan has won the status of the OIC Youth Capital 2022, and in the current year it will host a number of such events as the Kazan global summit with participation of Ministers of Youth Affairs and youth leaders from the OIC countries, the Festival of modern Muslim Culture and many others

He mentioned that Islamic economy keeps growing despite negative impact of global challenges and the Halal sphere is an important direction of its development and added that by the initiative voiced at the summit the Federal Technical Regulation and Metrology Agency (Rosstandart) established the Halal Services and Products standardization Committee which shows that the term “Halal” has been acknowledged at the federal level. 

“We use the road map approved by the Tatarstan government to promote Halal industry, increase the Muslims tourist flow, to raise loyalty of our residents to Muslim fashion and promoting Tatarstan Halal brands both in Russia and abroad and following Shariah norms,” Minnikhanov said and added that the year of 2022 was announced as a year of digitalization in the republic

He concluded by saying that in the following years it is very important to continue systemic work on  amendments of legislation in the sphere  of Islamic financial tools, adaptation of financial organizations to new threats and challenges, studying and using positive experience of other countries and regions in Islamic economy for supporting Muslim startups, attraction of investments from Muslim countries to Russian regions and further development of the Halal industry.