Why was "Kazan" chosen to hold the new round of the "Moscow Format" meeting about Afghanistan?!

The choice of Kazan to hold the new round of the Moscow format was not accidental. Now, Tatarstan is one of the main policy channels for Afghanistan. In the last two years, representatives of Afghan government ministries and departments have visited Kazan more than once and this platform is familiar to them.
Companies in the Republic of Kazan are implementing business projects in Afghanistan, and cultural relations have been established, especially with the Afghan Tatar community. The executive committee of the World Tatar Congress held online Tatar language courses for community members, and Afghan Tatars have increased their influence in the northern provinces in recent years.
Tatarstan has gained experience in the field of diplomacy with Islamic countries. This region has unique traditions and religious educational centers. This is also appreciated in Afghanistan, where the entire way of life is determined by the principles of Sharia.
The last time the officials of the Islamic Emirate came to Kazan in early June 2023 to participate in the International Forum of Ministers of Education. In May, representatives of the delegation of the Islamic Emirate also participated in the international economic forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum", where they were officially invited by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rostam Minikhanov.
On the other hand, the Russian Muslim Kazan Charitable Foundation, whose representative office has been operating in Kabul for 5 years, has played a major role in establishing trusting relations between Tatarstan and Afghanistan.
Through his mediation, representatives of the Afghan government began to visit Tatarstan. Nasimi Mohammad Khasib, head of the Department of Historical Objects of the Ministry of Information and Culture of Afghanistan, was a guest of the UNESCO International Forum, which was held in Kazan. Mohammad Nadim Nadim, Minister of Higher Education of Afghanistan participated in the international meeting of education ministers entitled "Shaping the Future". And in May of this year, a government delegation from Afghanistan led by Minister of Industry and Trade Nooruddin Azizi visited the international economic forum "Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum".
Tatarstan continues to systematically develop relations between Afghanistan and Russia using various public platforms, including the platform of the "Russia-Islamic World" strategic vision group headed by Rostam Minikhanov. During the Soviet era, hundreds of industrial facilities were built. Slowly but surely, Russia continues to build constructive relations with Afghanistan and also begins to develop the investment market in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Russia has already started the official process of recognizing the Afghan government. The first diplomats of the Islamic Emirate have already gone to Moscow and received approval from the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Russian embassy continues to operate while many countries have withdrawn their diplomatic missions from Afghanistan. Russian officials are still wary of officially recognizing the new government in Afghanistan, but work continues to improve relations with the new Afghan government.
In Afghanistan, they don't forget that the Soviet Union, unlike the Americans, not only fought on the soil of Afghanistan, but also began to build it. In the 1950s-1980s, with the participation of the Soviet Union, 130 industrial and infrastructure facilities were built, including the Naglu hydroelectric power plant on the Kabul Sea, which is still active, irrigation structures in Jalalabad, 1.5 thousand kilometers of roads, bridges gas pipelines, three airports, bread factories, nitrogen fertilizers, etc. In the 1960s, Soviet experts discovered and developed large natural gas fields in the northern province of Jawzjan, temporarily turning Afghanistan into a gas exporting country. Metallurgical plant.
The people of Afghanistan can compare the approaches of the Americans and the Soviet Union. Therefore, the remaining memory of this issue will definitely be in the hands of Russia in cooperation with Afghanistan.
In the current situation, Russia is investigating the investment market in Afghanistan; Last year, Russia signed a major economic deal with the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, becoming the first country to do so since the transition of power in 2021. According to this contract, or rather preliminary agreements, Russia will annually supply one million tons of gasoline and diesel fuel, 500,000 tons of liquefied gas and 2 million tons of wheat to Afghanistan, and although Russia offers a significant discount, this contract It will be by paying money and these are new markets for the same oil products and wheat that are now very important for Russia.
Also, the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has resumed the negotiations that continued since 1992 regarding the TAPI gas pipeline project (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India). Russia, which does not officially participate in the project, hopes to reap its benefits. If TAPI were built, Russian gas from the Arctic fields would reach India and Pakistan not by sea, but by a pipeline system, and these are big new markets that Russia's gas industry desperately needs today.
Another project in Afghanistan that Russia's area of interest is the Trans-Afghan Railway (TAR). According to the plan, Termez should connect Uzbekistan, Afghanistan's Mazar-e-Sharif, Kabul and the Pakistani metropolis of Peshawar, an important commercial center on the border of South and Central Asia. This is a very important large-scale project from a logistical point of view. Russian Railways wants to undertake the design, construction and maintenance of this line. The only question, like Topi, is financing.
In the meantime, Tatarstan is currently doing consulting and research work in Afghanistan regarding the development and exploitation of oil fields.
First, Tatarstan can participate in the supply of oil products both within the framework of the Russia-Afghanistan agreement and outside of it.
Secondly, Tatarstan is doing consulting and research work in Afghanistan on the development and exploitation of oil fields - there have been several trips by Tatarstan oil workers.
And thirdly, if the Afghan authorities start to revive the country and begin massive construction (mainly infrastructure), Tatarstan can supply the trucks.
Through the armed forces, it is possible to supply helicopters and other products of Tatarstan's defense complex. There is also a prospect of cooperation in projects in the field of education and humanitarian field.
However, there are many opportunities. Observers believe that if the new Afghan authorities move in the right direction, Tatarstan may take an active part in this matter. The new government of Afghanistan is trying to develop production as much as possible, and Russian business can take an active part in this.
Rostam Khabibolin, head of Russian trade, says that the new Afghan government is trying to develop production as much as possible, and Russian trade can take an active part in this, and this issue will make the constructive diplomatic dialogue between the two countries easier.
The director general of Russian Kazan Russian Muslim Patriotic Charitable Foundation in Afghanistan says: "The policy of the previous government, which was decided under the dictates of America and NATO countries, was mainly focused on exports. The Americans actively promoted their interests, and their intermediary companies made good money by removing the interest ceiling from billion-dollar transactions. Now the conditions have changed and the government that has come to work has focused on the development of its production and domestic processing of raw materials. And here a wide field is opened for the activity of commercial companies.