MOSCOW, (Pakistan Point News - 17th Oct, 2019) Russia appreciates the UAE’s support for the economic reconstruction of Chechnya, a Muslim-dominated autonomous region in Russia’s Caucasus, a senior Russian parliamentarian said.
"The leaders of Chechnya and the UAE have a long-term friendship. We thank the UAE leadership for helping the reconstruction of Chechen economy," Leonid Eduardovich Slutsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told a UAE media delegation that visited Duma, the lower house of Russian Parliament in Moscow, ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the UAE.
During Putin’s visit on Tuesday, Russia and the UAE signed several agreements in various vital sectors, including trade and investment, and sustainability and environment, which would further develop strategic partnerships between both countries.
Slutsky, a prominent Russian politician and parliamentarian, has played a major role in Chechnya and received the highest award of the Chechen republic "for exceptional merits."
Chechnya is one of the most successful economies in Russia and the UAE has played a role in that success story, he said.
In 2017, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, KFED, established Zayed Fund for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Chechnya.
The initiative was under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, who had assigned Khalifa Fund to work with the Chechen Government to jointly establish a similar institution for developing entrepreneurship, small and medium enterprises, SMEs, with a capital of US$50 million to support Chechen economy.
Zayed Fund made some promising achievements in a short period with approving a number of projects and organising several training courses in entrepreneurship and innovation.
Slutsky appreciated the Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s efforts in maintaining good relations with Arab countries, especially the UAE.
Chechen President had visited the UAE and held talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in April 2019 and November 2018.
The Russian parliamentarian also emphasised the positive role of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in the Arab world. "Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed is one of the main leaders, not only in the Gulf region, but in the entire Arab world," Slutsky said.
Both Russia and the UAE uphold tolerance and offer religious and ethnic freedom to all people, he pointed out.
"The UAE is propagating moderate religious values and permit people of other faiths to freely practice their religion. Without any exaggeration, we can say that the UAE is a role model of tolerance in the Arab world," Slutsky said.
He recognised the fact that the UAE is hosting many Christian churches, including the first Russian Orthodox Church in the Gulf region, in Sharjah.
Slutsky, who has received many honours from the Russian Orthodox Church for his contributions, has not yet visited the church in Sharjah.
"I am planning to visit the church in Sharjah soon. We will be happy to build one more church in the UAE," he told WAM on the sidelines of the briefing without elaborating further.
