Mintimer Shaimiev meets Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu

On August 25, in the Kazan Kremlin, Tatarstan Counsellor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Revival Foundation Mintimer Shaimiev had a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who is on a working visit in Kazan.

Shaimiev told the guest about the projects implemented with the assistance of the Revival Foundation on preservation of historical and cultural heritage. He told him in detail about the results of the eight-year activity of the Foundation for the revival of the ancient city of Bolgar and the island town of Sviyazhsk and about new projects such as the construction of the Bolgar Islamic Academy and the reconstruction of the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.

During the meeting, Shaimiev reminded that in the early 1990s, the Republic of Turkey was one of the first states with which Tatarstan established friendly ties. Turkey played a great role in promoting Tatarstan to the international arena.

“I am glad that thanks to active work of our President Rustam Minnikhanov, the republic cooperates with many countries and the cooperation between Tatarstan and Turkey is particularly successful. For example, Turkish companies are actively working in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, which is one of the best special economic zones in Russia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attaches great importance to the cooperation with Tatarstan as a part of strengthening relations between Russia and Turkey,” Shaimiev said.

He also stressed that the Consulate General of Turkey successfully operates in Kazan, which makes a great contribution to the development of bilateral relations.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu reminded that he visited Kazan in 2011 as Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

"At that time, you just started to revive historical monuments and told me about the work ahead. Today I was glad to see that you have practically reached the goals set," he said.

He conveyed greetings and best wishes from  President of Turkey Erdogan to Mintimer Shaimiev and noted the fruitfulness of his meetings held earlier in Moscow with the Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"We are now working to strengthen bilateral relations and expand cooperation with Russian regions. You, as the first President of the Republic, have long and successfully served for the benefit of both Tatarstan and Russia. Now Minnikhanov and his colleagues are following the path that has been laid by you. As you rightly noted, Turkish companies receive significant support from the leadership of the republic now and at that time when you headed the republic. Therefore, it is not by chance that many Turkish investors choose Tatarstan among other regions of Russia. Investments of Turkish companies to Russia in general are increasing day by day,” Çavuşoğlu said.

"I listened with admiration of your success in reviving historical monuments and am glad that you continue to serve your people. In your work you invariably show understanding and tolerance. People restore mosques and cathedrals together here. There is an acute need for this today in the world, especially in Western Europe. Peace and harmony in Russian regions in general and in Tatarstan in particular are an example for other peoples. We treat you as a wise aksakal and would like to turn to your experience and wise advice more often,” the Turkish Minister concluded.

Issues of further cooperation between Tatarstan and Turkey as part of the development of comprehensive relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey were also touched upon during the meeting.