The largest intl exhibition of cooperation between Russia and the Islamic world concluded in Kazan

PUTIN'S GREETING: “I AM CONFIDENT THE FORUM WILL OPEN NEW HORIZONS”

The XVII International Economic Forum “Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum” is breaking records — representatives from 103 countries are registered, compared to 96 in 2025. The event did not go unnoticed by the country's top officials. On the official website of KazanForum, participants and guests of the event were greeted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

— These days, Russian and foreign politicians and public figures, scientists and theologians, businessmen and experts have gathered in Kazan. You are to discuss key issues of economic, humanitarian and spiritual life, share experiences of cooperation between Russia and Islamic states, which is based on common values, respect for cultural and civilizational diversity, a commitment to dialogue and partnership for a stable and successful future. In our country, representatives of different religions and peoples have lived for centuries, each preserving their uniqueness and identity. And it is symbolic that the forum is taking place precisely in the Republic of Tatarstan — a dynamically growing Russian region where the traditions of interethnic harmony are preserved.

— Islam is one of the world's religions, widely spread in Russia; it is professed by millions of our citizens who make an important contribution to the development of the domestic economy, science, culture and social sphere. We strive to deepen friendly relations with all Islamic states, — noted Vladimir Putin in his address.

3 DAYS — 149 BUSINESS SESSIONS

The program of KazanForum is impressive: 3 days — 149 business sessions and more than 20 thematic tracks. The key event is the International Exhibition of Cooperation between Russia and the Islamic World. In numbers, that is 30 thousand square meters, 18 participating Russian regions, 40 halal product certification centers, 12 exhibiting countries and 54 stands.

The exhibition traditionally unites countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, regions of Russia, leading domestic and foreign companies.

At the official opening, the international exhibition was inspected by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Russia Magomedsalam Magomedov, Minister of Construction and Housing and Utilities of Russia Irek Faizullin, Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and Prime Minister of Tatarstan Alexey Pesoshin.

The head of the Investment Development Agency of Tatarstan, Taliya Minnullina, spoke about the international cooperation of Tatarstan with Islamic countries, noting that the republic's trade turnover with them has increased and accounts for more than 50% of its foreign trade.
Next, a presentation of the Moscow stand took place — Digital Moscow. Rustam Minnikhanov, Marat Khusnullin and other guests also visited the expositions of Oman and the Republic of Turkey. The Turkmenistan stand featured handmade national carpets and other products.

After that, the officials visited the expositions of the Kirov region, the Penza region, the Karachay-Cherkess Republic and the Republic of Mordovia. At the stand of the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan, they reported on the academy's current projects, implemented both independently and in cooperation with universities and ministries.

PETROCHEMICAL POTENTIAL

The development of industrial cooperation became one of the central themes of the forum. Within the framework of the exhibition, the largest republican companies presented their projects and developments. The stand of the TAIF Group united TAIF-NK JSC, TGK-16 JSC and TAIF-SM LLC. The TAIF Group is also an organizational partner of the exhibition.

TAIF-NK is today among the top 20 most technologically advanced refineries in the world. The company's technological efficiency is confirmed by a high Nelson Index level, which currently stands at 12.8. During its existence, the company has made significant progress, increasing the yield of light petroleum products from 36% to 94%.

The enterprise continues this direction and aims to increase the figure to 98%. Furthermore, the rate of sulfur removal from oil has reached 94.5%, which is also one of the best results. Last year, the company launched a unit for processing concentrated hydrocracking residue of tar, which has allowed for deeper oil refining. The unit is manufactured mainly from domestic equipment and produces raw materials in demand in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. The production of a fertilizer — sulfur bentonite — was also mastered.

Active scientific and applied work by specialists of the refining complex, in collaboration with experts from TAIF JSC, led to the opening of their own Research Center. Here, technologies for processing various types of heavy feedstock will be tested on pilot laboratory units, which will allow building a database on the influence of the qualitative characteristics of oil residues on the efficiency and conversion of heavy oil feedstock into valuable light petroleum products. The total estimated cost of the project is 2.5 billion rubles.

— This will help continue research into deep processing technologies for heavy residues, the development of new formulations and catalysts, as well as the expansion of the raw material base. In addition, the center will play an important role in training process specialists for production. The opening of the Research Center will ensure closer cooperation between one of the country's most innovative refining complexes and leading scientific institutions, universities and research centers. This will allow not only attracting the best minds, but also exchanging experience, thereby accelerating scientific research and its implementation into production practice, — said Alexey Khramov, General Director of TAIF-NK JSC, about the goals and objectives of the Research Center.

At the end of May, the first scientific and practical conference “Modern Methods of Efficient Oil Refining” will be held at the Research Center. The event will bring together experts and students to share knowledge and discuss oil refining problems and effective ways to solve them.

Another stand was set up by TAIF-SM LLC. The company produces about 700 types of oils and lubricants for all segments and for any operating conditions. The improved technical and technological base of the Synthetic Oils Plant (brand Taif Lubricants), as well as its own research platform, have made it possible to create an innovative production facility in Nizhnekamsk, whose products are not inferior to, and in some ways surpass, foreign analogues.

Tatarstan's energy companies also have something to show.

— There are quite a few companies here that are of interest to us. We constantly keep our finger on the pulse of scientific and technological progress and maintain an open dialogue with both colleagues and equipment manufacturers. In addition, there are representatives from countries that are interesting to us in terms of supplying spare parts and equipment. International cooperation is an integral part of our development strategy, — explains the company's presence at the forum Eduard Galeev, General Director of TGK-16 JSC.

During the exhibition, representatives of TAIF-NK JSC, TGK-16 JSC and TAIF-SM LLC held several meetings with delegations from near and far abroad. The parties expressed interest in possible cooperation and exchanged contacts for more detailed discussions.

COUNTRIES ARE BUILDING FREE TRADE ROUTES

Issues of cooperation in the fields of the petrochemical industry, energy, agriculture, transport and high technologies were also actively discussed outside the exhibition. First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Denis Manturov and Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Airlangga Hartarto held the 14th meeting of the Russian-Indonesian Joint Commission on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation on the sidelines of the forum.

Priority attention is given to the economic agenda. Trade turnover between Russia and Indonesia has more than doubled over the past five years and approached $5 billion at the end of 2025.

— An additional factor for increasing and diversifying trade turnover should be the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Indonesia, signed at the end of last year. We expect that by the end of the year, all parties will have completed the domestic procedures necessary for its entry into force. The improvement of conditions for mutual access of goods to markets should be accompanied by an expansion of direct contacts between our entrepreneurs, — said Denis Manturov.

Many forum participants spoke about the need to ensure sustainable mutual settlements, and also discussed issues of IT integration. Tatarstan is ready to be a platform where countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) can develop cooperation in the IT field. This was announced by Bulat Gabdrakhmanov, Deputy Minister of Digital Development of Public Administration, Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Tatarstan.

— We see a growing interest from the Islamic world, the Middle East, Africa, and ASEAN countries in building their own digital sovereignty and, accordingly, in the technological solutions of Russia and, in particular, Tatarstan. This year, for the first time, we launched an agenda that Tatarstan can be a center and hub in terms of IT cooperation for the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. It is precisely for this purpose that we launched a program for the whole of Russia to enter the OIC countries, — he said.

The Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digitalization of Tatarstan noted that the countries of the Islamic world are interested not only in importing and renting software, but also in the joint development of technologies. For example, in Qatar, where Tatarstan established an IT hub, a solution for digitizing horse racing is being implemented in partnership.

Khaled Khader, Head of the AI Department at Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global Digital (TAG.Global) (Jordan), stated that his country is interested in cooperation with Tatarstan and Russia in the field of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. There is also interest in joint educational programs.

— We need to pay attention to digital sovereignty. This is especially true for Arab countries, as we have recently been renting software. We would like to consider cooperation in creating this independent software. Both sides can benefit from this, — said Khaled Khader.

The Minister of Knowledge Economy, Startups and Micro-Enterprises of Algeria, Noureddine Ouadah, said that his country is interested in the expertise of Tatarstan and Russia in the field of cybersecurity and digital solutions. Cybersecurity, he noted, is a key issue today, so Algeria is interested in cooperation in this area.

— We are considering cooperation in the IT field, as we have a fairly young and educated population. This cooperation could be very effective and beneficial for both sides: for Algeria and for Russia. Algeria today is the “gateway” to Africa, which can provide Russia with great opportunities for cooperation in the business sphere, — said Noureddine Ouadah.

There are still two more days of interesting discussions and debates ahead. The International Economic Forum “Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum” will continue its work until May 17. Dozens of events are announced in the program, including the International Property Market 2026, a meeting of the “Russia — Islamic World” Strategic Vision Group, the XVI All-Russian Forum of Tatar Religious Figures “National Identity and Religion," and others.