“Russia – the Islamic World” Inter-Parliamentary Hearings on the International Cooperation and Innovation: New Opportunities and Prospects for Cooperation with the Islamic World

Organizing partners: The Deputy Group of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for Relations with the Parliaments of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar, and the State of Kuwait

Venue: Halls 3–4, International Exhibition Centre Kazan Expo, Kazan

Moderator: Vladimir Gutenev, Coordinator of the Deputy Group, Chairman of the Committee on Industry and Trade of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

Despite sanctions and the failure to comply with international law, economic indicators over the past year are very impressive; actually, there was no recession, and at least 2–2.5% growth is expected this year. The parliamentarians’ task is to discuss at the round table the proposals that would allow greater dynamics in the development of cooperation with the countries of the Islamic world that demonstrate economic and political sovereignty. One of effective tools for this purpose are special investment contracts.

Speakers:

Farid Mukhametshin, Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan, Chairman of the Commission of the Council of Legislators of the Russian Federation on International Cooperation, welcomed the guests of the forum in his own name and on behalf of Rustam Minnekhanov, Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan. He stressed that this forum is a significant event for the republic and the country as a whole, and also expressed gratitude to Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation for granting a federal status for the forum. He noted that Tatarstan is a multinational republic, a home for the representatives of 173 nationalities where every effort is made to ensure that different nationalities can preserve their language, cuisine, dress style, and culture in general. Tatarstan can be seen as an example of how people of different nationalities can live in peace and cooperate.

He also pointed out that countries of the Islamic world traditionally belong to priority partners, and work is underway to strengthen long-term cooperation. It is no coincidence that the Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan is the Chairman of the “Russia – Islamic World” Strategic Vision Group. The Consulates General of Hungary, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and a branch office of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus operate in Kazan. There are also representative offices of the countries of near and far abroad.

Tatarstan is one of the leading Russian regions in terms of the development of industry and agriculture, the oil and gas industry, and mechanical engineering. The turnover of foreign trade with a number of countries present at the forum is growing. Kazan is increasingly often chosen as a platform to discuss the matters of business and humanitarian cooperation.

Ahmad Al-Shehhi, Deputy Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the UAE to Russia, expressed gratitude to the leaders of the Republic of Tatarstan for the opportunity to discuss cooperation of a strategic nature. He stressed that Tatarstan and the UAE always exchange delegations at the highest level and in general maintain well established connections in various fields; specifically, 240 air flights weekly deliver tourists to the UAE. In recent times there was a significant increase of the volume of trade and industrial cooperation, and trade turnover. Contacts between various friendship societies are continuing as well. 5000 Russian companies operate in the Emirates. This influences cooperation with Tatarstan, among others in the fields of high technologies, ecology, and process engineering.

Albert Karimov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, noted that last year presented many new challenges for the Russian industry. Despite sanctions, the disruption of logistics chains, the shutdown of production facilities, there was just a 0.6% decrease. Starting from June last year, the indicators of manufacturing and other industries recovered their growth. The structure of international cooperation and the major trading partners has changed. The speaker highlighted the following potentially interesting areas: supplies in chemical industry, metallurgy, increase of timber industry export.

Sergey Gorkov, Director General and Chairman of the Board of AO Rosgeologia, Chairman of the Russian-Emirati Business Council, emphasized that the role of the Kazan Forum is increasing from year to year. Non-governmental organizations, such like the Russian-Emirati Business Council that provides relevant support in the development of business relations, also play an important role. The agreement on the opening of KAZAD Industrial Zone with unique conditions where a cluster for Russian companies has been created, the establishment of a cultural centre for the promotion of Russian culture, represent a new promising area.

Tatiana Gvilava, Chairman of the Russian-Arab Business Council, President of the All-Russian Public Organization “Women of Business”, Co-Chairman of the World Association for the Development of Entrepreneurship “Women’s Business Council” told about the Council’s activities: “We have been working for 12 years in the Middle East, hold exhibitions where up to 10,000 companies take part. Our goal is to present Russia, to demonstrate investment opportunities for both Russian and foreign companies. We have created a new IT platform MENA intended to find business partners and familiarize with their business. A great scope of work with big IT companies and government agencies is ahead. Also, an agreement on the establishment of the Women’s Business Council, a new global association to represent the women’s view of business was signed with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Arab countries.”

Siham al Harsia, a member of the Board of Directors of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told about halal products: today the world shows a great interest in these products, even in those countries with no Muslim majority. The volume of trade turnover in this area has increased significantly. The Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry plays an important role in the distribution of halal products. Halal product standards are also used in healthcare, Islamic banking, and Islamic tourism.

Nazari Skrypnik, Head of the Federal Accreditation Service, noted that the halal requirements are very strict, and no product, especially food, can be imported into an Arab country without a halal certificate. There are about 30 halal-governed spheres, and the role of state accreditation is to create all needed conditions for the acceptance of halal certificates in other countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, for export purposes.

Airat Farrakhov, member of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes, member of the Parliamentary Group of Friendship with the Parliaments of the Persian Gulf countries, said: “Our job is to represent the interests of voters, solve their issues. Thanks to our flexibility and our values, we are ready to promote these interests.”

Dmitry Birichevsky, Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, highlighted the great interest in Russia and Tatarstan. Under conditions of significant pressure on the country from the West, the establishment and development of an independent payment settlement system becomes the main prerequisite for the stable development of connections. A turn towards a multi-currency world is inevitable. Flexible and diverse financing instruments will be in demand and can be used for business development.