The President of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev, has told Interfax about the results of the meeting of the strategic vision group “Russia – the Islamic World” in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Q.: A few days ago, the dialogue between Russia and the Islamic World was continued in the city of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is probably a metaphoric way to define the fourth session of the strategic vision group “Russia – the Islamic World”, which you attended as the leader of the Russian delegation. Mintimer Sharipovich, you and Evgeny Primakov are the group's co-chairmen. Could you tell us about its activities and goals?

M. Sh.: Beginning the dialogue between Russia and the Islamic World and forming an international group of authority became possible after a historic event, Russia’s joining the OIC as an observer in 2005. In 2006, we set up the strategic vision group “Russia – the Islamic World”. The fact of its establishment indicates Russia’s interest in making “the Islamic world” a priority direction within its foreign policy. Gatherings of that kind allow to conduct an effective dialogue, to discuss problems and to find solutions to them.

The previous meetings were held in Moscow, Kazan, Istanbul; the fourth one took place on October 27-29 in Jeddah. Our debates at these meetings are always beneficial with lots of interesting remarks being made. The group members asked themselves one question at the onset: what should the dialogue between Russia and the Islamic World contain? It was at the very first meeting that we arrived to a common view: we should not talk of Islam only as of a religion. We should talk of Russia’s relations with the Islamic World in a broader sense – meaning culture, economy and politics. The majority of the group are not religious figures. They are politicians with a huge experience in state governance, people who know how to build relations between the state and religion. Our convictions are the following: to reduce the number of conflicts in the world, the dialogue should be conducted between equal partners. We cannot talk of one civilisation’s supremacy over another. Each nation has its own lifestyle and traditions. So, when interacting with other countries, we need to understand how peoples live, rather than trying to influence them, as this is immoral. Unfortunately, there are instances of this in the world, and our activity is aimed to eradicate them.

We discussed a wide range of issues in Jeddah, related to the interfaith and intercultural dialogue, as well as the present state of international affairs in the age of globalisation. It is pleasing to note that our understanding has been increasingly better meeting-to-meeting. We begin hearing each other better. And we certainly wish to be heard by the broader global audience, too.

Q.: How would you describe the present state of relations between Russia and the Muslim countries?
M. Sh.: We have over the recent years seen considerable changes in the development and strengthening of our cooperation in this direction. Russia has obviously found a clear-cut strategy in regards to the Muslim East. Russia has become a predictable partner for the Islamic World. The priority is to restore the optimum degree of trust and predictability in our relations, as well as the confidence that aiming for long-term cooperation with the Islamic World is not a “quick profit” thing for Russia. We need to take in to account that strategic cooperation with Russia is very important for the Muslim states, as Russia aims for a multi-polar world and does not entrench upon the values, traditions, uniqueness and sovereignty of the Muslim East's states.

Our relations with the Muslim East states have over the recent years been stepped up, especially, as I said, after Russia in 2005 joined the Organisation of the Islamic Conference as an observer.

Russia today actively develops economic relations with the East states. There are several directions, where our economic cooperation may be enhanced. Firstly, it is drafting and implementing long-term economic projects, within which framework the Russian party provides a large part of technologies and production, while the Islamic party is responsible for a great part of investments, marketing and sales. Secondly, obtaining investments from the Islamic Development Bank and from other financial institutions within the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, as well as setting up industries with Russia’s participation. Holding the international investment conference together with the Islamic Development Bank in June 2008 in Kazan was a significant event in this respect; attendees were representatives from the Islamic World’s financial elite, from leading commercial and industrial companies. It was the first event held in a country that is not an OIC member. Tatarstan then presented its economic potential and some investment projects in the areas of machine building, oil recovery and petrochemistry, health care, construction of housing facilities and road infrastructure.

In short, Russia has a whole range of projects running, that provide an opportunity to maintain our relations at a new level. These are the strategic vision group, the Russian Fund for Support of Islamic Culture, Science and Education. They include developing new principles for cooperating with the Islamic Academy of Sciences that in the summer of 2008 for the first time in its history held a session in Kazan. They are the international Muslim film festival Golden Minbar, that was born in Kazan in 2005 and has since 2007 been held under the motto “through the dialogue of cultures to the culture of dialogue”. Work is being done and it definitely produces effect, contributing to rapprochement, understanding our commonness, which in turn strengthens faith in that cooperation will develop for the benefit of our nations.

Q.: Mintimer Sharipovich, a great deal was said in Jeddah of the Saudi Arabia King Abdulla bin Abdul-Aziz’s idea to establish a stable interfaith dialogue. With this in view, why is our country interesting for the Islamic World?
M. Sh.: We do fully support the idea put forward by the Saudi Arabia’s King for it totally complies with our own views of prospects for interfaith peace. Russia has a centuries-long experience of tolerant co-existence between various religions. I am convinced that this experience is applicable to the whole world today. This is really our wealth, cumulated by the joint work of a multiethnic and multi-religious nation that has since time began lived in the territory of our state. There could be no social model that we have now without communication between people of various faiths, without their respect for each other and an interest in each other. One of the fundamentals for the republic’s progress is the centuries-long experience of civilised, friendly relations between the faiths. We should say it straight, there are things that the world can learn from us.

I think a properly organised dialogue between the monotheistic religions can considerably improve confidence between the nations and cultures, and to deter the extremists from pushing us towards the path of conflict. Many of the world’s ethnic, political and military conflicts though are often ascribed to the religious factor, including the Islamic one. In my view, it involves a deliberate and dangerous substitution of socio-political and economic prerequisites for religious reasons. It is good at least that Islam and the Muslim states are not blamed for the financial crisis that has affected the global economy over the recent months. Islam, just like any other global religion, has nothing in it that could spur intolerance and feud. But if a religion becomes a token coin in the hands of some political forces, it means that the religious leaders are unable to clearly define the role it plays in the contemporary world and to separate it from the other social phenomena, ideology and politics. There is work cut out here and it is an urgent task for the Muslim society, in my view. Through building an effective dialogue between the religions, we will be able to both better understand each other and to find solutions to this problem.

Q.: Mintimer Sharipovich, you said in the report at the meeting in Jeddah that Russia put forward an idea to set up a religious consultation council at the UN, one that would support the Alliance of Civilisations and be a standing body for the dialogue between religious leaders.
M. Sh.: That’s right, and the respectable assembly supported this constructive initiative of the Russian Federation. This is right, as today we need to implement without delay all ideas that lead our planet towards peace and agreement. We certainly need to boost the activities of the entities that exist. For instance, we are all interested in increasing the efficiency of the UN, based on a multi-polar view of the world. At the same time, the potential of OIC entities needs to be developed more actively as well. The organisations like IRSICA, ISESKO are actively cooperating with Russia.

Q: Mintimer Sharipovich, the Republic of Tatarstan maintains direct commercial and economic ties, as well as cultural ties, with some countries, including those in the Islamic and Arab world. Lately, however, Tatarstan has been considered one of the key regions to act as an intermediary between Russia and the Muslim states. What, do you think, it is accounted for by? Could you dwell on these contacts?
M. Sh.: First of all, Islam is the second largest religion inside the Russian Federation, and it acts as a sort of link between Russia and the Muslim world. We cannot separate the Russian Islam from the global Islam: thousands of Russians make pilgrimage every day to see the Muslim relics in Saudi Arabia; and many religious leaders receive education in Islamic countries. Islam is a very dynamic religion that is now going through a new phase of its development: it is adapting to the contemporary reality which accounts for the interest in Islam both inside Russia and in the world.

Secondly, the common features between us and the Muslim states are the historical, cultural and spiritual traditions that contribute to understanding and cooperation. Located at the intersection of Europe and Asia, Tatarstan has since long ago been considered a link between the East and the West, keeping and valorising the traditions of the two great global religions and cultures, Islam and Orthodox Christianity. As you know, Volga Bulgaria in the early 10th century officially became a Muslim state, and since that time our land has been the Islamic World's northernmost outpost.

Our business community today has a good opportunity to increase its economic and investment potential. Our companies Kamaz, Tatneft and Nizhnekamskneftechim have established good contacts with companies in OIC member states. The potentially lucrative areas for cooperation include energy and promotion of products made by KMPO, Kazankompressormash, Kazan Helicopter Plant, Kvart, KOMZ, Kazan Synthetic Rubber Plant and other firms. Trade with these countries is some 15 percent of the total foreign trade, that in 2007 exceeded $16 billion.

I would like to say in conclusion that the communiqué, adopted by the meeting in Jeddah, will be forwarded to the UN Secretary General and I do hope that our opinion will be heard by the global public.