Tatarstan President has departed for Saudi Arabia

October 27, the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev, departed for Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to take part in the Fourth Forum of the Strategic Vision Group “Russia - the Islamic World”.

The Strategic Vision Group “Russia - the Islamic World” was created in 2006. It is an advisory body set up for enlarging cooperation in all fields between Russia and Islamic countries.

The first meeting of the group took place in March 2006 in Moscow where the initiative to create a Council of civilisations under the UN aegis aimed at considering interests of all states and not allowing religious and inter-ethnic conflicts was put forward. Representatives from as many as 15 countries took part in the meeting.

The second meeting was held in Kazan in August 2006 and resulted in adoption of the Statement o the group and the Kazan declaration. The declaration emphasizes importance of informing the world community about Islamic principles and values and proposes to include a course of history of religious into curricula. It the statement that was adopted at the meeting it was marked that if the international community did not approach the issue actively, a split in the world in terms of civilizational origin would be irreversible and could create a real threat for the future of humankind.

The third meeting of the group was in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey in February 2007. There it was decided to develop the issue of setting up an executive committee and a special foundation.

The fourth meeting of the Strategic Vision Group “Russia - the Islamic World” will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 27-29 October 2008. The Russian delegation is led by Mintimer Shaimiev, the President of the Republic of Tatarstan.