On the 15th -21st of May 2017, Ambassador Ezzat Saad, Director of the Council, participated in the third annual conference of the group of Strategic Vision”Russia-the Islamic World” held in the Chechen Republic, in the presence of the Chairman of the Group “Rostom Minkhanov The President of the Republic of Tatarstan, the President of the Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, the coordinator of the Group, Ambassador Veniamin Popov, as well as the Presidents of the Crimea and Dagestan Republics, with the participation of 34 representatives of foreign guests and 23 representatives of the Russian Federation. A number of points have been emphasized:
· Russian President Vladimir Putin, has confirmed in a letter read by the Deputy Foreign Minister and the representative of Russian President in the Middle East Ambassador Mikhail Bogdanov, stressed that “the crisis in the modern system of international relations requires the creation of conditions for a constructive and effective dialogue and cooperation with partners in confronting Terrorism, the search for a peaceful settlement of regional crises and the importance of working with all partners with a view to strengthening international security and stability, building peace, a just and democratic order and a world without any form of intolerance, discrimination, domination or dictation”
· Rostom Minikhanov, the chairman of the Group noted that “Terrorism and extremism are not only a threat to Islamic countries but all countries, which requires working with all partners to address these challenges, stressing that Russia continues to pursue a policy of rapprochement with Islamic countries, especially as Russia considers itself part of the Islamic world.”
· The President of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, noted that “Russia is still the most loyal ally in the defense of Islam, especially as it is among the countries that adopted effective measures to combat terrorist organizations”
· In his intervention, Ambassador Ezzat Saad, stressed the importance of activating the stated goal of the group since its establishment more than ten years ago in achieving rapprochement and interaction between Russia and the Islamic world on the basis of mutual cooperation in various fields to achieve common interests and mutual benefits, which strikes the world and the Middle East in particular.
He also pointed out that Egypt always urges Russia to engage in the problems of the region with its positive contributions to restoring security and stability to this vital part of the world, especially since the Russian role is known for its integrity and for its bias towards a particular party. Its role is shown in the Syrian tragedy and its attempts to bring together the various parties at one table to defeat terrorism and preserve Syria’s territorial integrity.
He concluded by stressing that this welcomed Russian role in the region is due to the depth of Russia’s knowledge of its problems and its international historical and cultural interaction with the region for many reasons, most notably the Islamic component of Russian society, a component that is truly a factor of rapprochement between Arab and Islamic countries and Russia.
Hence the concern of the two sides – among other things – to confront terrorism and to reject the distortion of the Islamic religion by a few deviant criminal of its children. It is regrettable that it is the Muslim peoples who today pay a heavy price for the waves of terrorism that strike our countries and impede economic and social development and stability. It should be noted that at the conclusion of the meeting, the group issued a statement confirming that “Russia and the Islamic countries should pay special attention to the issue of promoting trade, economic and investment cooperation, which is the solid basis for political interaction and other.”
The fact that Russia is part of the Islamic world, this cooperation among our countries has the nature of strategic cooperation. The participants in the meeting highly appreciated Russia’s relations with the Muslim world and expressed the hope that Moscow will continue to play a constructive role in settling regional and international conflicts “.
