Tatarstan President in Dubai: Interethnic and interreligious harmony is the prospect of our further development

On November 14, speaking at a plenary session of the second World Tolerance Summit in Dubai (the United Arab Emirates), Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said that interethnic and interreligious peace and harmony are the key to stability and the prospect of our further development.

He said that about 4 million people and representatives of 173 nationalities live in Tatarstan. “Our republic has a unique experience: for thousands of years representatives of two traditional religions — Islam and Orthodoxy — have peacefully coexisted here. We have a complete mutual understanding,” he emphasized.

Minnikhanov also said that the republic has established an approach to the simultaneous reconstruction of Muslim and Orthodox holy places. A vivid example is the Kazan Kremlin, where the Kul Sharif Mosque and the Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral are located. A lot of work on the revival of the island-town of Sviyazhsk and the ancient city of Bolgar has been done. Both sites have been inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List. The construction of the Bolgar Islamic Academy and the reconstruction of the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God are in the list of the recent projects.

Minnikhanov also told the forum participants about the activities of the Bolgar Islamic Academy, about the holding of the International Economic Summit “Russia — Islamic World: KazanSummit” in the capital of Tatarstan and the development of the halal industry.

At the end of the session, Minnikhanov received a Letter of gratitude for his active participation in the second World Tolerance Summit. At this forum, Tatarstan was awarded a special prize for its contribution to the development of tolerance. Tatarstan Minister of Culture Irada Ayupova received the award.