About 100 upcoming agreements and 103 participating countries: how KazanForum became the successor to BRICS
This year, the Russia — Islamic World forum will be held for the 16th time. At the moment, guests from 103 countries have registered, which is significantly more than last year. More than 10,000 participants have already passed the security check and are ready to work at the forum site. The main topic of this year is digitalization, which will be discussed at the central plenary session on 16 May, and during the entire forum, 141 business conferences will be held at Kazan Expo, covering 20 key areas of work to form a business program. Read more about it in the report of Realnoe Vremya.
From a football match to signing agreements: what awaits guests at KazanForum?
The 16th Economic Forum Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum is held in Kazan from 13 to 18 May. The main events will be held at the City Hall and the Kazan Expo Exhibition Centre. Participants will discuss issues of preserving cultural identity. Representatives of the Russian Ministry of Culture and delegates from OIC countries have registered for the meeting.
Before the meeting, an exhibition The Light of Islam Through the Centuries will be open. The exhibition will feature handwritten Qurans from the 14th century and traditional shamails. The exhibition is organized by the National Museum of Tatarstan.
“At least 99 agreements are planned to be signed at the forum. The event will be attended by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedow. A separate conference will be devoted to Islamic banking,” said Taliya Minullina, head of the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency.
Four thematic sessions are also planned for 16 May. The first is devoted to Islamic fashion in the countries of Southeast Asia and the CIS. The second session will focus on the development of cultural tourism programs.
- The forum will also include a congress of prosecutors general of Islamic countries and the Day of the Adoption of Islam in Bolgar.
In addition, from 13 to 18 May, an exhibition of halal products will be held in the agro-industrial park. It will be attended by 150 companies from 10 countries. Food products from Turkey, Iran, India and other countries will be presented.
“The number of events is growing, which creates new opportunities for cooperation,” Minullina emphasized.
Kazan is preparing to become the epicentre of the culture of the Islamic world
This year, Kazan will host a meeting of the ministers of culture of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries as part of the economic forum. Representatives from 17 countries and international organizations are expected to participate.
The main event will be a plenary session dedicated to the culture of the OIC countries and the dialogue of cultures. It will be held on 15 May in the Kazan Town Hall at 11.00.
“The main topic is preserving identity and diversity in a multipolar world,” specified the Minister of Culture of Tatarstan Irada Ayupova.
On the same day, a rich cultural program will be held at the Kazn Expo exhibition centre. Four business sessions are planned for 16 May. One of them is “Islamic High Fashion, where they will discuss the functioning of the Islamic fashion industry in Southeast Asia and the CIS. There will also be a session on the development of cultural tourism programs, where the best domestic and foreign practices will be presented.
Other sessions will be devoted to the art of calligraphy and its integration into the modern world, as well as cinema in the Islamic context. Leading producers and screenwriters will discuss financial models for film production and cooperation opportunities, including the prospects for the development of the Kazan International Film Festival Altyn Minbar.
After the sessions, a rich excursion program awaits the guests of the forum. They will be able to visit such significant sites as the Kazan Kremlin and the Kul Sharif Mosque, as well as get acquainted with cultural attractions, including Khazine National Art Gallery and the N.I. Feshin School. The program also includes a visit to the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the cave temple of the Al-Marjani Mosque.
“The Ministry of Culture of the Republic has prepared more than 30 events for the duration of the forum. Among them are excursions to UNESCO sites such as Sviyazhsk and the Pulkovo Museum, as well as the astronomical observatory of the Kazan Federal University,” said Ayupova.
The full plan of cultural events can be found on the website of the Ministry of Culture of the republic.
International Property Market to become the largest platform for investment and real estate development
The KazanForum will host the International Property Market (IPM) exhibition, which will become a platform for interaction between investors, developers and real estate market experts from 74 countries, said Minister of Construction, Architecture and Housing and Communal Services of the republic Marat Aizatullin.
IPM will bring together 54 participating companies on one platform, demonstrating the growing interest in Tatarstan as a centre of investment and development activity. The exhibition will be attended by leading Russian and international developers, builders, as well as representatives of specialized organizations and associations.
Among the participants there are 29 developers, including 13 federal companies from Moscow, as well as from Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, and nine developers from Tatarstan. In addition, seven companies from the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Georgia have confirmed their participation.
In addition to the exposition, IPM will offer a rich business program, including 20 sessions with the participation of federal and regional leaders, foreign guests, representatives of construction companies and leading architects. During the sessions, current trends and tendencies in the field of construction, architecture, investment activities, creation of modern public spaces and implementation of international projects will be discussed.
As part of the business program, the Ministry of Construction of the Republic will take part in two sessions dedicated to the integrated development of territories (urban planning, environmental and social aspects), as well as the prospects for using digital technologies in construction and urban infrastructure.
“Everything is ready for the exhibition, confirmations have been received from all participants, and the development of clusters is at the final stage. IPM will become a key event for industry specialists, allowing them to exchange experiences, present advanced projects and trends, and also increase brand recognition and presence at the local and global levels,” concluded Marat Aizatullin.
Strengthening transport links and a shortened sports programme
This year, KazanForum has strengthened its transport links and attracted more than 600 volunteers, said Maxim Denisov, CEO of Directorate of Sports and Social Projects.
It should be reminded that access to the forum site will be possible only with accreditation.
“Today is the final day to register, and so it will be difficult for everyone to get to the site,” Denisov said.
It is expected that 30% more participants will come to the forum than last year. This will increase the load on the city's transport system. To solve this problem, the Tatarstan Ministry of Transport, together with Sodruzhestvo company, will organize additional trains from the Kazan-1 railway station to the Kazan Expo site. Trains will run twice as often — every hour, and travel for accredited participants will be free.
In addition, for the convenience of participants, shuttles will be organized from official hotels to the forum venue. Separate routes are also provided for media representatives.
This year, 625 volunteers were selected from more than 1,200 applications to help organize the forum. Of these, 555 people are local residents, and 70 are out-of-town volunteers from the country's leading economic universities.
The forum's sports program has been reduced to a minimum this year, said Maxim Denisov. Only one tournament will be held — the Eastern Cup, organized by the Rubin football club. A session dedicated to training athletes during Ramadan will also be held as part of the forum.
“This is all thanks to BRICS. This is a legacy”
This year, a significant increase in the number of participants is expected, especially from the BRICS countries and Africa. One of the main events of the forum will be the participation of Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova, who will attend this event for the first time.
“We have colleagues from federal authorities who will take part for the first time this year,” emphasized Taliya Minullina.
Sergey Gorkov, head of the Russian-Emirati Business Council, will take part in the forum again, holding a session on cooperation between Russia and the UAE and signing an agreement.
This year, the number of delegations from African countries has increased significantly.
“We see more delegations from African countries, which have not come in such numbers before,” Minullina said.
This is due to the active PR campaign of the forum and the BRICS summit, which was held in Tatarstan.
“These are all the merits of BRICS. This is the legacy. After BRICS, several delegations from African countries came to us, who discovered Tatarstan as an important point on the map,” added the head of the Investment Development Agency.
All measures have been taken to successfully hold the event. Participants will be able to discuss business issues and establish new contacts within the framework of expanding international cooperation, the organizers said.
Let us recall that the 16th BRICS summit was held in Kazan in October 2024, which became the key event of Russia's chairmanship in the association. Realnoe Vremya publishes the key conclusions and agreements reached during this large-scale event in the international arena.
