Minnikhanov’s first major visit to Saudi Arabia in several years: Kazan to become the Islamic cultural capital?

Kazan claims to be the cultural capital of the Islamic world

The day before, the rais of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, paid a working visit to Saudi Arabia. Immediately upon arrival, he headed to Mecca, where he performed one of the most important religious rites in Islam — umrah. Together with the Tatarstan leader, the mufti of the republic, Kamil khazrat Samigullin, made a small pilgrimage.

At the 13th Conference of Ministers of Culture of the Islamic World, held in Jeddah under the auspices of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Minnikhanov said: Kazan claims to be the cultural capital of the Islamic world.

“Taking into account the rich experience of friendly interaction with the Islamic world and the centuries-old cultural and historical heritage of Islam, we express our interest in becoming a part of the ICESCO Cultural Capitals program. Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, has been nominated for the title of the cultural capital of the Islamic World in 2026. We hope for your support of our application," he stressed.

The rais of Tatarstan also added that the issue of including the national holiday Sabantuy in the List of Intangible Heritage of ICESCO is being considered today. It should be recalled that a few years ago, the authorities of the republic sought to include Sabantuy in a similar UNESCO register, but then the attempt was unsuccessful. Perhaps this time the Tatar holiday will still be recognised internationally: ICESCO unites 54 states from 57 member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Russia has had observer status in the organisation since 2007.

Rustam Minnikhanov invited all those present to become honourary guests of the meeting of the Russia — Islamic World Strategic Vision Group. “It will focus on the experience of Russia and the countries of the Islamic world in the field of youth policy. The meeting will be held within the framework of KazanForum. Every year, it gathers representatives of government, business, financial organisations and the expert community," he said.

Tatarstan is ready to host a Conference of Ministers of Culture of the OIC countries

At a meeting with ICESCO Director General Salem bin Mohammed Al-Malik, Minnikhanov thanked him for his personal participation in the Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum and the Kazan Global Youth Summit.

“Kazan is like a second home for me. I always enjoy visiting your republic," replied the head of ICESCO. He also stressed the importance of information about Russia's relations with the Islamic world presented at the events in Kazan.

The rais of Tatarstan invited the CEO of ICESCO to take part in the first Congress of Ministers of Culture of the OIC countries, which is to be held this year on the sidelines of KazanForum. In addition, Minnikhanov expressed his readiness to hold a Conference of Ministers of Culture of the organisation's member states next year.

In addition, Rustam Minnikhanov congratulated the Secretary General of the organisation, Hussein Ibrahim Tahu, on the 55th anniversary of the OIC. “You are well known in Russia as an authoritative representative of an influential organisation uniting Muslim countries, with which we closely cooperate," the Tatarstan leader emphasised and invited Hussein Ibrahim Taha to attend the upcoming KazanForum.

“It is a great honor for me to meet with you. We highly appreciate the work of the Russia — Islamic World Strategic Vision Group. And we look forward to expanding cooperation between your Group and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation," said the OIC Secretary General.

It should be noted that by the end of 2023, Tatarstan's trade turnover with the OIC member countries increased by 83% and amounted to $5.7 billion. Trade with Egypt, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Turkey and the Central Asian states has grown significantly. Relations with partners from Asia and Africa are being strengthened.

According to media reports, the trade turnover between Saudi Arabia and Tatarstan in 2020 amounted to $18.6 million. Realnoe Vremya sent a request to the Investment Development Agency of the republic about the volume of this indicator in 2024. Data will be published upon receipt.

How Minnikhanov secured the opportunity for Russian Muslims to undertake Hajj

Earlier, Rustam Minnikhanov paid a major visit to Saudi Arabia almost four years ago, in November 2021: he participated in a meeting of the Russia — Islamic World Strategic Vision group. At that time, Tatarstan declared that it was ready to cooperate on the issue of Islamic banking. The partnership financing experiment officially started in Russia only two years later. In addition, the republic sees interest and is actively working with Saudi Arabia in the field of energy and agriculture, Minnikhanov added during a meeting with Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Governor of Makkah Province and chairman of the Central Hajj Committee, Prince Khalid Al Faisal.

At that meeting, Minnikhanov proposed to assign Kazan a special status, proclaiming it “the city of the first printed Quran in the Muslim world.” It is worth noting that this was never announced. You can read more about the points of his speech in the material of Realnoe Vremya.

At the same time, the Tatarstan leader managed to secure the opportunity for Russian Muslims to undertake Hajj in 2022, despite the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, a year earlier, only 60,000 Muslims from among the inhabitants of the kingdom were able to go to Mecca. At a meeting with Saudi Arabia's deputy minister of Hajj and Umrah, Abdul Fattah Mashat, the Tatarstan leader asked “to agree in advance that Russian pilgrims would be allowed in with vaccination [Sputnik V].” At that time, the drug was only undergoing the WHO registration procedure.

Already in December, the Saudi authorities allowed Russians vaccinated with two doses of the Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus to perform Hajj and umrah. A quota of 11,318 people was set for them, of which 810 places were in Tatarstan.

From that moment on, Minnikhanov made only short-term visits to Saudi Arabia. For example, a year ago, the Tatarstan leader met with Hissein Brahim Taha, discussing the Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum forum.

“Using the example of Tatarstan, we strive to establish practical mechanisms for interaction with Islamic business. There are great prospects for the development of the Islamic economy. In particular, the food industry is developing — halal, halal tourism, halal medicine," the Tatarstan leader emphasised at the time.