The Islamic World and the Development of Town Twinning: What's Next?
The Islamic World and the Development of Town Twinning: What's Next?
Organizer and Partner: Russia’s Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo)
Venue: Russia’s Kazan, Kazan Expo International Exhibition Center
Time: 10:00 a.m. local time (7:00 a.m. GMT) on May 15.
Rossotrudnichestvo head Yevgeny Primakov moderated the panel discussion. Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Volvach, Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin, Head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia and Member of Russia’s Civic Chamber Mufti Albir Krganov, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of Kazan Federal University Timirkan Alishev, Chairman of the Internnational Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies of Malaysia (IAIS) Dr. Maszlee bin Malik, Deputy Scientific Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vasily Kuznetsov, Chairwoman of the Expert Council of the Russian Cities Union Alexandra Ignatieva took part in it.
On the second day of the 15th International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum 2024," a panel discussion titled "The Islamic World and the Development of Town Twinning: What's Next?" took place. It was moderated by Russia’s Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo). The participants discussed the specifics of developing relations in terms of exchange of knowledge, cultural values, educational and industrial technologies.
Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin said in his speech that one of the most important elements in the development of twinning links is the exchange of experience, local management practices. "There are large and small towns where this or that practice is better implemented by the mayor or his or her team. <...> To date, practice has shown that especially in times when unfriendly countries tried to drive Russia into isolation, our intermunicipal ties continue to work very actively," he said. Metshin pointed out that Kazan would host the BRICS Forum in October, and the city authorities have taken the initiative to hold a founding meeting of the Association of BRICS Cities.
Successful development of relations between twin towns requires the participation not only of authorities, but also religious figures, Head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia and Member of Russia’s Civic Chamber Mufti Albir Krganov said. "I believe that there is an important mechanism at the G20 on the issue of religious diplomacy now: if earlier leaders did not pay attention to religious issues, then in the last two years, starting from the Indonesia summit, they have already invited religious figures within the framework of the G20 to formulate proposals to the G20 leaders on what we need to do today. And in this regard, I would like to draw the attention of my colleagues from Tatarstan, as they will host a big BRICS forum: there is a proposal from various countries of the Muslim world to organize some kind of cultural forum on civilizational issues within the BRICS," Krganov said.
"We have a lot of experience in developing municipal cross-border cooperation. We have tried to extend it to the whole country, so that municipalities do not make the mistakes that can be made on this path the first time they go down it, but at the same time take all the good and useful things that foreign economic relations can bring to the regions. Our task is to ensure that all this is not limited to representative visits, so that all documents, agreements, memoranda are filled with concrete content," Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Volvach said.
Vice-Rector for International Affairs of Kazan Federal University Timirkan Alishev also pointed to the importance of formalizing cooperation, including through agreements. According to him, such documents help new partners to establish relations more quickly. "Just recently, a large delegation from Kazan traveled to China, to our wonderful twin towns Guangzhou and Shenzhen. When you mention this connection, that agreements have actually been signed between the cities, a completely different format of relations is formed with the city leadership, the university leadership, among others, because they realize that there is already trust, a certain administrative framework in which we work," Alishev said.
The moderator of the discussion, Rossotrudnichestvo head Yevgeny Primakov recalled that at present there are 79 contacts in the list of friendship and partnership relations maintained by the agency. They include not only formal partnerships, but also agreements on friendship and interaction. "Rossotrudnichestvo has developed methodological guidelines for municipalities on how to work with their partners abroad, we will soon show them to the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Economic Development Ministry," Primakov said.
The 15th International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum 2024" is being held on May 14-19 in Kazan. This year's keynote is "Trust and Cooperation." The main goal of the forum is to strengthen trade and economic, scientific and technical, social and cultural ties between Russian regions and the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as to promote the development of the Islamic financial system institutions in Russia.
Venue: Russia’s Kazan, Kazan Expo International Exhibition Center
Time: 10:00 a.m. local time (7:00 a.m. GMT) on May 15.
Rossotrudnichestvo head Yevgeny Primakov moderated the panel discussion. Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Volvach, Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin, Head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia and Member of Russia’s Civic Chamber Mufti Albir Krganov, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of Kazan Federal University Timirkan Alishev, Chairman of the Internnational Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies of Malaysia (IAIS) Dr. Maszlee bin Malik, Deputy Scientific Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vasily Kuznetsov, Chairwoman of the Expert Council of the Russian Cities Union Alexandra Ignatieva took part in it.
On the second day of the 15th International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum 2024," a panel discussion titled "The Islamic World and the Development of Town Twinning: What's Next?" took place. It was moderated by Russia’s Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo). The participants discussed the specifics of developing relations in terms of exchange of knowledge, cultural values, educational and industrial technologies.
Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin said in his speech that one of the most important elements in the development of twinning links is the exchange of experience, local management practices. "There are large and small towns where this or that practice is better implemented by the mayor or his or her team. <...> To date, practice has shown that especially in times when unfriendly countries tried to drive Russia into isolation, our intermunicipal ties continue to work very actively," he said. Metshin pointed out that Kazan would host the BRICS Forum in October, and the city authorities have taken the initiative to hold a founding meeting of the Association of BRICS Cities.
Successful development of relations between twin towns requires the participation not only of authorities, but also religious figures, Head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia and Member of Russia’s Civic Chamber Mufti Albir Krganov said. "I believe that there is an important mechanism at the G20 on the issue of religious diplomacy now: if earlier leaders did not pay attention to religious issues, then in the last two years, starting from the Indonesia summit, they have already invited religious figures within the framework of the G20 to formulate proposals to the G20 leaders on what we need to do today. And in this regard, I would like to draw the attention of my colleagues from Tatarstan, as they will host a big BRICS forum: there is a proposal from various countries of the Muslim world to organize some kind of cultural forum on civilizational issues within the BRICS," Krganov said.
"We have a lot of experience in developing municipal cross-border cooperation. We have tried to extend it to the whole country, so that municipalities do not make the mistakes that can be made on this path the first time they go down it, but at the same time take all the good and useful things that foreign economic relations can bring to the regions. Our task is to ensure that all this is not limited to representative visits, so that all documents, agreements, memoranda are filled with concrete content," Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Volvach said.
Vice-Rector for International Affairs of Kazan Federal University Timirkan Alishev also pointed to the importance of formalizing cooperation, including through agreements. According to him, such documents help new partners to establish relations more quickly. "Just recently, a large delegation from Kazan traveled to China, to our wonderful twin towns Guangzhou and Shenzhen. When you mention this connection, that agreements have actually been signed between the cities, a completely different format of relations is formed with the city leadership, the university leadership, among others, because they realize that there is already trust, a certain administrative framework in which we work," Alishev said.
The moderator of the discussion, Rossotrudnichestvo head Yevgeny Primakov recalled that at present there are 79 contacts in the list of friendship and partnership relations maintained by the agency. They include not only formal partnerships, but also agreements on friendship and interaction. "Rossotrudnichestvo has developed methodological guidelines for municipalities on how to work with their partners abroad, we will soon show them to the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Economic Development Ministry," Primakov said.
The 15th International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum 2024" is being held on May 14-19 in Kazan. This year's keynote is "Trust and Cooperation." The main goal of the forum is to strengthen trade and economic, scientific and technical, social and cultural ties between Russian regions and the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as to promote the development of the Islamic financial system institutions in Russia.
