Moscow seeks to expand the geography of meetings of the Group of Strategic Vision "Russia - Islamic World," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Friday during a press conference in the city of Ufa
UFA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th November, 2019) Moscow seeks to expand the geography of meetings of the Group of Strategic Vision "Russia - Islamic World," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Friday during a press conference in the city of Ufa.From November 28-30, Ufa is hosting the fifth annual meeting of the group, which is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The organization gathers 57 countries, while Russia holds an observer state status.
"Now, we have ambitious plans to expand the geography of the group's meetings, and I think that many other member countries have already voiced their readiness [to expand the geography]. As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we will strongly support that desire to expand the geography and hold alike meetings in other countries, as it happened today in Ufa," Bogdanov said.
During the plenary session, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov stated that the next session of the group would take place in the Saudi city of Jeddah in 2020.
"The tradition of our regular meetings will be continued, and the geography [will be] expanded. We received an invitation to hold the group's next meeting in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we gratefully accept it and expect to see all of you next year during the meeting of the group in Jeddah," Minnikhanov stressed.
The Russia-Islamic World strategic vision group was established in 2006 after Russia joined the OIC as an observer. Previous meetings of the group were held in Moscow, Kazan, Istanbul, Jeddah and Kuwait. The group includes 33 famous statesmen and public figures from 27 Muslim states, and its activity has received a wide positive response in many Muslim countries.
