Rustam Minnikhanov tried to return Flydubai and invited Arabs to KazanSummit
Delegation from Tatarstan is taking part in the 6th Annual Investment Meeting in Dubai
Tatarstan annually presents its economy at the forum and usually surprises with its novelties. This time, Innopolis was a novelty, and proven ideas like KAMAZ and IT-park were stressed. Rustam Minnikhanov not only presented the exposition of Tatarstan himself but also was the main promoter of the coming KazanSummit. Apart from presentation meetings, the President tried to solve a concrete problem – to return the Arab airline that decided to stop its flights from Kazan.
KAMAZ vehicles, Innopolis and IT-park as landmarks of Tatarstan
A big delegation of Tatarstan headed by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov is participating at the 6th Annual Investment Meeting (AIM-2016) in Dubai. The President is accompanied by the Deputy PM of the Republic of Tatarstan – Minister of Information and Communications of Tatarstan Roman Shaikhutdinov, the head of Investment Development Agency of Tatarstan Taliya Minnulina, the chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Tatarstan on Tourism Sergei Ivanov, the director general of Innopolis SEZ PJSC Igor Nosov, etc.
The forum started on 11 April. The President of Tatarstan took part in the work of the plenary session of AIM-2016. Giving his speech at the sitting, Rustam Minnikhanov noted that anti-crisis measures taken in Tatarstan helped to save investments in the economy even in the current conditions in the world.
Rustam Minnikhanov told that petroleum refining and petrochemistry, wholesale and retail trading are top directions of development of the regional economy. Tatarstan is simultaneously developing such new directions as IT. According to Rustam Minnikhanov, now the Republic of Tatarstan is looking for new opportunities and areas for cooperation with the countries of Southeast Asia. In particular, the usability of Islamic banking is considered for it. 'I'm convinced that it is a big resource for our republic,' the President of Tatarstan noted.
Moreover, the republic presented its own exposition on the exhibition, which is held within the scope of the meeting, where Tatarstan is represented by KAMAZ, Innopolis SEZ, IT-park, etc. Very Rustam Minnikhanov presented the exposition for the Emir of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Minnikhanov tried to return Flydubai to Kazan in summer
Rustam Minnikhanov also had a series of business meetings. The President of Tatarstan was one of the first people who met with the Commercial Director of Flydubai Hamad Obaidalla.
It should be reminded that an aircraft of this low-cost airline crashed at Rostov-on-Don Airport on 19 March, after which the carrier was sent a mass of claims concerning its pilots' workloads. However, a new problem was discussed during the negotiations of the President of Tatarstan with the representative of the company – suspension of flights from Kazan. In last year's March, Flydubai decided to reduce the number of flights from 4 to 2 because of the reduction of the ruble rate and, consequently, reduction of the number of passengers. This year the company plans a seasonal break from 13 May from 28 September 2016.
Rustam Minnikhanov offered to renew the flight en route from Dubai to Kazan from July 2016 with the intention of increasing of mutual tourist flows between the UAE and the Republic of Tatarstan in summer. In Rustam Minnikhanov's opinion, Flydubai is popular among the population of the republic and favours the growth of the tourist flow.
The UAE was interested in IT and agriculture of Tatarstan
The first day was very intensive for the Tatarstan delegation. Rustam Minnikhanov managed to talk to the head of the Association of Private Banks of Iraq Watig Al Handal and the President of the Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Morocco Mustapha Amhal and visit Dubai Internet City – the largest IT park.
But a meeting with the Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori was one of the most important ones. According to the President of Tatarstan, the United Arab Emirates are one of the attractive and important partners of Tatarstan concerning the international cooperation. During the meeting, Rustam Minnikhanov invited the Minister of Economy to visit the Republic of Tatarstan and take part in KazanSummit, the traditional International Economic Summit of Russia and OIC countries.
The Minister of Economy of the UAE expressed its interest in cooperation with the Republic of Tatarstan in such spheres as IT and E-services, agricultural complex, etc. Rustam Minnikhanov invited the representatives of business structures of the UAE to visit the republic for a detailed acquaintance and exchange of experience in the areas of cooperation they are interested in.
Tatarstan-Emirate friendship
It should be reminded that Rustam Minnikhanov's first official visit to the UAE was in the year when he took office, in 2010. In December, he arrived in Abu-Dhabi for a two-day working visit. Moreover, Minnikhanov prefers to spend his holidays in Dubai.
As for the Annual Investment Meeting in Dubai, Minnikhanov has been participating in the event since its inception, that is to say, since 2011. At that time he was accompanied by the chairman of the Committee on Development of Small and Medium Enterprises of Tatarstan Linar Yakupov, and here Minikhanov was awarded a memorable symbol of the meeting (for his attention paid to the event) by Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
In 2012, trying to earn the Arab investors' sympathy, Minnikhanov emphasized that Tatarstan is a Muslim region, and this fact should be taken into account while working with the Arab World. At that moment the President told that the participation in the AIM is not to yield fruits immediately in the form of contracts signed, 'Investments don't come once, and we need to work hard to make the level of investment promotion from the Arab World be high,' he said in 2012. In May 2013, the President of Tatarstan visited DuBiotech. It is the first SEZ in medicine. What is more, in the Intergovernmental Russia-United Arab Emirates Commission in February 2013, he offered to open a Representative Office of Tatarstan in Dubai.
Investment Development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan headed by Taliya Minnulina presented the investment attractiveness of Tatarstan at the meeting last year. The republic was represented by KAMAZ, KAI-Laser, Kazan National Research and Technological University, Ak Bars Holding, Kazan Helicopters, Robotics Kazan, Medical on Group-Kazan, etc. Innopolis, WorldSkills-2019, Fina-2015 were on a separate stand. The stand drew people's attraction with different gimmicks: a selfie with a tubeteika and different landmarks of Kazan on the background, coffee with chak-chack and talkysh kaleve.
Spot on friendship
However, a tragic story of the disappearance of Hazrat Suleyman Zaripov on 9 February marred the last year of Tatarstan-emirate friendship. It should be reminded that his fellow-traveller, Syria-born guest from the UAE Khouja Adbe Najim Eldin. As Realnoe Vremya newspaper found out, this person is well known in the Russian Muslim spirituality because he is a representative of the charity foundation Dar al Ber Society (the UAE).
The headquarters of the foundation is located in Dubai. It accumulates funds of obligatory alms – zakat. The foundation was founded by the Ministry of Labour of the UAE and is represented in 42 countries. It helps poor people, widows, students, orphans, disabled people, children's home, finances works on reconstruction of wells, favours the strengthening of good attitude to Islam, strengthens the Muslim fraternity and builds mosques. The society is functioning worldwide.
It was noticed in a scandal in Azerbaijan. According to a local media, at the end of the year, the head of the Azerbaijani representative of the international organization was wanted by Interpol. A 45-year-old Rashad Akhundov, in particular, was blamed for a large-scale tax dodge. He left the country, so that the siloviks of Azerbaijan included him in the international wanted list and asked Interpol for assistance. In Azerbaijani mass media it was told many times that Akhundov had close relationships with members of a Wahhabi sect. In 2014, Akhundov was arrested as a result of an operation carried out by the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Taxes, but he was freed one day later.
Mr. Najim (in Russia, he is known as Sheikh Nadzhmeddin) has supervised the financing of the construction of mosques in Russia since the beginning of the 90s. He built 26 mosques in Tyumen Oblast only. Mosques were built in Tatarstan, Kurgan and Sverdlovsk Oblasts too.
Hazrat Suleyman Zaripov and his fellow-traveller have not been found yet.
