The XIIIth International Economic Summit "Russia – the Islamic World: KazanSummit 2022" was held from May 19 to 21, 2022 in Kazan. 6,388 people from 64 countries of the world and 59 regions of Russia, including representatives of 50 Russian and foreign Chambers of Commerce and Industry, took part in the events held within the framework of the summit.

The first day of the KazanSummit business program.

The first day of KazanSummit 2022, May 19, distinguished itself by a number of outstanding events. The business and cultural agenda of 2022 presented to the guests and participants the holding of the World Halal Day (WHD-2022), the festival of Modest Fashion Day, as well as a number of conferences and forums, signing ceremonies of international agreements and memoranda and high-level meetings.

"KazanSummit 2022 will expand the economic opportunities and business potential of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region and the OIC countries and increase the recognition of Muslim startups on the world market!", noted CEO of Tatarstan Investment Development Agency Taliya Minullina.

In total, 30 agreements were signed at the summit site. One of the memorable events became the signing of agreements aimed at developing cooperation in the field of foreign trade, transport and logistics, within the framework of the development of the international transport corridor "North — South". Following the signing of the agreements, a wholesale distribution platform of the Agroexpress-Kazan center will appear in the Zelenodolsk district of Tatarstan, specialized service for the delivery of Russian food products to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, China and the Middle East using accelerated container trains. It stands to mention, Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Republic of Tatarstan and "VTK Global Investments and Trading Ltd" Limited Liability Company, aimed at developing all forms of activities for the implementation of a project to create renewable energy power plants in the republic.

Among the key events of the first day of the summit was the meeting of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov with the Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of foreign states in Russia, the results of which can be judged by the further steps taken by the countries participating in the meeting.

At the end of the first day, a fashion show of 12 designers from Russia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Spain was held as part of the Modest Fashion Day festival. The theme of the development of modest fashion was also brought up at business sessions on the territory of the IEC Kazan Expo, where well-known and reputable Russian and foreign experts discussed the use of this fashion trend as a means of communication for harmonious intercultural and interreligious interaction, as well as its relevance, development and support measures as an integral part of the global Islamic economy.

Russia Halal Expo

In the beginning of the summit, guests and participants had the opportunity to visit RUSSIA HALAL EXPO exhibition, which brought together dozens of companies providing goods and services that meet the Halal standard. The exhibition demonstrated almost all spheres of the economy. The exhibition brought together 147 exhibitors from 7 countries: Russia, Turkey, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and 18 regions of Russia. The exhibition area was 10,000 square meters. The booths of Tatarstan (815 square meters) and Turkey (426 square meters) have traditionally become the largest.

At the opening ceremony of the summit and the international exhibition of the halal industry "Russia Halal Expo", the President of Tatarstan and Chairman of the Group of Strategic Vision "Russia – Islamic World" Rustam Minnikhanov spoke, who reminded the audience that: "KazanSummit is the main and only platform in our country for economic cooperation between the regions of the Russian Federation and the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Summit has been acknowledged to be a successful business platform for establishing new contacts and presenting economic opportunities and investment potential of our country... ...The business program this year is very rich — we will discuss partner finance, medicine, sports, creative industry, export development and many other fields... ...The leitmotif for the new program this year will the sharing economy and the common good of Halal."

KazanSummit 2022 Plenary Session

The theme of the KazanSummit 2022 Plenary session was "Sharing economy and the common good of Halal". The editor-at-large of TRT World TV channel Yusuf Erim became the moderator of the event. The speakers were honored guests of KazanSummit 2022 Rustam Minnikhanov, Maxim Reshetnikov, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, H.E. Shaikh Abdulrahman Bin Mohamed Bin Rashed Alkhalifa, H.E. Abdullah Ahmed Mohammed Al Saleh and others.

Satellite events

One of the key events of the first day was the SberTalk conference dedicated to the prospects for the development of the Islamic finance market in Russia, the conference "The development of the halal industry in Russia and abroad: "How to become part of a large Internet system?", panel discussions "Halal industry: yesterday, today, tomorrow, through the prism of the development of the Halal export market" and "Future Global Halal Trends", as well as a marathon of financial experts held by PJSC Ak Bars Bank. PJSC Ak Bars Bank is the general partner of the Russia Halal Expo exhibition. Representatives of the bank used the summit platform to present a new product: an Islamic debit card, which cannot be used for payment transactions in alcohol supermarkets, casinos and other institutions contrary to Sharia, and also held a marathon of financial experts who conducted a detailed review of the general economic situation, told where it is safe to invest in today's realities in order to preserve and multiply savings, reducing political risks. The experts were: Kira Yukhtenko, stock exchange columnist, investor, author of the InvestFuture project; Evgeny Kogan, author of the bitkogan channel, President of the Moscow Partners Company, Professor at the Higher School of Economics; Rami Zaitsman, investment analyst.

International Machine-Building Cluster Forum

The VIII Machine-Building Cluster Forum also occured within the framework of the Summit. The main topics of the forum were increasing labor productivity under restrictions, new opportunities for import substitution, federal and regional support for projects in the field of digitalization, automation, robotics and IT solutions, innovative developments in environmental projects, modern solutions for gas supply and production of technical gases, etc. It is necessary to mention the signing of agreements at the site of the Machine-Building Cluster Forum. Representatives of the cluster met with more than 40 potential suppliers, 5 of which will be marked by fruitful cooperation in the future, said Sergey Mayorov, Chairman of the Machine-Building Cluster of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Features of KazanSummit 2022

The features of the KazanSummit 2022 program include World Halal Day, which has been held annually since 2014 in different parts of the globe. Halal today is not only food, but also a full–fledged ecosystem of services and communications. World Halal Day is the largest forum in the field of Islamic business and an international exhibition that unites dozens of companies providing goods and services that meet the Halal standard.

Today is a time of economic transformation, in which the halal industry should play a key role through the construction of H2B, H2C and H2G ties between countries and businesses: Halal 2 Government – building business ties; Halal 2 Business — dealmaking and launching new projects; Halal 2 Consumer — client-centered halal products. These components combine to express the main idea of the 2022 summit: H2B+H2G+H2C = HALAL2WORLD — the world of halal.

The Republic of Tatarstan has been holding major international youth events on its territory for many years. Among them are the VIII Forum of Young Entrepreneurs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (participants are startups from different countries who presented their projects to investors and experts, the prize fund was 10 thousand US dollars), the VI Forum of Young Diplomats of the OIC countries and the International Competition for Reading the Holy Quran. In addition, in 2022 Kazan received the status of the "OIC Youth Capital — 2022". Within the framework of the events, the President of the OIC Youth Forum Taha Ayhan noted the significance of assigning Kazan the status of "youth capital" in such a significant year for the Republic of Tatarstan – the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria.

Events dedicated to the celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria

May 19 and 20 included mainly business events, and the third, on May 21, was entirely dedicated to the celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria. On May 20 and 21, a unique light show took place in Kazan and in Bulgaria, which embodied the ideas of the light that Islam brings to the world. On May 20, 2022, a commemorative ceremony of installing a memorial stone to commemorate the construction of the Cathedral Mosque complex took place in Kazan. The first stone was laid by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov. "For more than 1000 years, a unique culture of interreligious dialogue and harmony has been formed and developed on our land, good-neighborly relations have been developing. The approach to solving issues related to the technical and religious diversity of the population makes it possible in many ways to achieve social, economic and humanitarian goals in the progressive development of the Republic."

On May 21, a special holiday "Izge Bolgar Zhyeny" was held in Bolgar, within the framework of which a bright cultural and educational program was presented: a concert and a midday prayer on the square near the Cathedral Mosque, which was attended by 1,100 imams from 7 countries and 76 regions of Russia. Сommemorative events in memory of the official adoption of Islam as the state religion of Volga Bulgaria have been held here annually since 1989.

Welcoming words of high-ranking officials to KazanSummit 2022

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to the guests and participants of the summit, as well as to the organizers of festive events dedicated to the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria: "We are sincerely glad that guests from dozens of countries have come to the Republic of Tatarstan for these celebrations. The adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria became one of the significant milestones in the history of our Motherland, had a significant impact on its formation as a multi-confessional state."

Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov read to the audience an address from the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin: "Dear participants of the plenary session and guests of the XIII International Economic Summit "Russia – the Islamic World: KazanSummit 2022", I am glad to welcome you to the summit. During its existence, the summit has gained credibility and international recognition. Today he again gathered in the capital of Tatarstan representatives of state authorities, financial institutions, leaders of Russian and foreign business.

Russia and the Islamic States are bound by strong ties of friendship and deep respect. We are actively developing cooperation in trade, economic, scientific, technical and humanitarian spheres. We are implementing major joint projects. The Russia—Islamic World Forum is a unique opportunity to give an additional impetus to our diverse cooperation. To expand the exchange of experience and best practices, establish new business contacts, conclude agreements, hold presentations of investment projects of states and regions."

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Mikhail Bogdanov, who was also the speaker of the Plenary Session, conveyed to the audience the message of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov: "For many years Kazan has been a platform for dialogue between politicians, businessmen and experts from Russia and the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. This year, the events dedicated to the significant date of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria are a good reason to look at the state and prospects of Russia's relations with the Islamic World through the prism of their centuries-old history.

It is gratifying that today, out of the many things that unite us, first of all, we can highlight the commitment to the goal of democratization of international life, as well as unconditional respect for the right of the peoples of the world to independently determine their own destiny. We reject racist prejudices and claims to exclusivity, as well as any other manifestations of steadily colonial thinking. And we are pleased to note the mutual interest in the Russian Federation and Muslim states in promoting equal and mutually beneficial relations. The assignment of the status of "Youth Capital of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation" to Kazan this year is a vivid confirmation of this."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent wishes of success and prosperity to the guests and participants of the event: "I ask the Almighty that the Thirteenth International Economic Summit "Russia — the Islamic World" be successful and bring good to our countries and peoples. I am sure that the Summit will contribute to the development of humanitarian, economic and cultural relations between our Muslim brothers in Russia and the Islamic world."

Even during the plenary session of the Strategic Vision Group "Russia – the Islamic World", the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov noted that: "We are ready to develop partnership relations both on a bilateral basis and within the framework of Islamic cooperation organizations. Moreover, the basis for qualitative growth has already been created — over the past three years, Russia's trade turnover with the states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has increased by a quarter. Now is the time to develop joint projects that take advantage of the opportunities that are opening up."

The guests of honor of KazanSummit 2022 were: Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of Milli Gengesh Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan Maxim Reshetnikov, State Counselor of the Republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev, Cabinet Affairs Minister in Charge of the Republic of Sudan Osman Hussein Osman Eldirdiri, President of the supreme council for the Islamic affairs, Scion of Royal Family, Kingdom of Bahrain H.E. Shaikh Abdulrahman Bin Mohamed Bin Rashed Alkhalifa, Chairman of the World Halal Day UNWHD Mohamed Jinna, President of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization – KOSGEB Hasan Basri Kurt, President of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Sergey Katyrin, Under Secretary of the Foreign Trade and Industry at the UAE Ministry of Economy H.E. Abdullah Ahmed Mohammed Al Saleh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Mikhail Bogdanov, Special Representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for Cooperation with Organizations of Muslim States Konstantin Shuvalov, Chairman of the Board of “Rosgeo” Sergey Gorkov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ramazan Abdulatipov, Secretary General of The Standards and Metrology Institute for the Islamic Countries Ihsan Ovut, President The president of World Halal Summit, President of the OIC Youth Forum Taha Ayhan, the leadership of the regions of Russia, members of parliaments of several OIC countries, as well as heads of 32 embassies and consulates, heads of 45 chambers of commerce and industry from 40 regions of the country, Abkhazia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.


The guests and participants noted the rich business program, productive meetings, highly appreciated the level and growing scale of the international economic summit "Russia – the Islamic World: KazanSummit 2022", and called it one of the best for many years of holding.


The mission of the summit is to maintain established contacts between Russia and the countries of the Islamic world, to carry out measures to strengthen the positive image of Russia in the OIC countries and the OIC countries in Russia, promoting projects to the international level.