Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Organising
Committee of the International Economic Forum “Russia — Islamic World:
KazanForum” Marat Khusnullin and Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk took
part in the plenary session of the forum, “Financial and logistics
infrastructure of Russia and OIC countries.”

“The President of Russia pays great attention to this
annual forum, which is held for the 15^th time this year. He is aware
of the decisions that are made here, and the agreements that are signed here.
KazanForum is, indeed, one of Russia’s effective platforms for it to discuss interaction
priorities with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and bilaterally with
individual countries. Trade with OIC countries is up by 37 percent, and the tourist flow has grown significantly. In his Address to the Federal Assembly,
the President set a goal to make sure that all vehicles cross the state border
in eight minutes maximum. This is a major goal, which we will strive to attain in the coming years,” Marat Khusnullin said, adding that transport and logistics
cooperation with the friendly countries from the Islamic world was expanding
fast.

“Thanks to the Moscow-Kazan M-12 Vostok high-speed motorway
that opened last year, the drive time to that southeastern destination is down by 6 hours now,” Marat Khusnullin said. “Our colleagues from Kazakhstan are
building transport infrastructure, widening roads and building new roads. Our colleagues
from Turkmenistan have started building an Iran-bound motorway along the Caspian Sea coast and are now designing the construction of a road connecting
it with Kazakhstan. Cooperation with Iran is making strides, and rail traffic to Russia from Iran is operational. All of the above help align joint projects
with our country.”

Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk highlighted the importance of Russia’s cooperation with Islamic and Global South countries.

“We are witnessing a major global economy shift from
the West to the East, towards the Global Majority countries. Boasting a unique
geographical location in northern Eurasia, Russia is leveraging this advantage
in order to most effectively tackle the existing challenges. We are working
closely to expand the North-South international transport corridor. In conjunction with the Eurasian Economic Commission, the five EAEU countries – Russia,
Kazakhstan, the Republic of Belarus, Armenia and the Kyrgyz Republic – are discussing
ways for a number of Islamic states to join the free trade areas, as Iran did.
We see that the economies that maintain friendly relations with Russia are growing,
meaning that the synergetic effect is working for all of us,” Alexei Overchuk said.

According to the head of the Republic of Tatarstan
Rustam Minnikhanov, KazanForum is an effective platform that helps Russia expand
cooperation with the Islamic world and establish new business contacts.

 “Two years ago,
the KazanForum was granted federal status. We are grateful to the President for trusting us with it. Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin heads the federal
organising committee. The forum has broken new ground. We use the KazanForum platform
to discuss matters of broader integration of our relations with Islamic
countries that include the North-South transport corridor, Islamic banking,
halal lifestyle, and expanding tourist contacts. This work is sponsored and supported
by our country’s leadership,” Rustam Minnikhanov said.

The plenary session was attended by Deputy Head of the Presidential Executive Office Magomedsalam Magomedov, LDPR Party Chairman Leonid
Slutsky, and State Counselor of the Republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiyev,
as well as officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman and the UAE.