First Deputy Chairman of the Russia Muftis Council and the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federatio, Rushan Abbyasov, took part on behalf of the Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin in the Russian-Turkish public forum held in Istanbul.

He conveyed the greetings on behalf of the religious leader of Russian Muslims, Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin, and spoke about the cooperation of Russian and Turkish Muslims.

"The Russia Muftis Council has been working with the Directorate of Religious Affairs of Turkey for 10 years, based on the Protocol on Cooperation in the religious sphere, which was signed in 2008. The cooperation of organizations covers the educational and cultural spheres, publishing activities, matters related to pilgrimage, charity, construction of mosques and schools, "he said.

He mentioned that in February 2017 Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin had received a delegation from the Islamic Research Centre (ISAM), which is also engaged in translating the multivolume encyclopaedia of Islam from Turkish into Russian.

"A draft of the first volume of this significant theological work, which is ready for publication, has been presented. Every year Russian imams participate in advanced training courses in one of the Directorate’s Islamic centres in Bursa. Meanwhile, the Russia Muftis Council invites Turkish imams to participate in religious services in mosques in different regions of Russia during the holy month of Ramadhan, "added Rushan Abbyasov.

Speaking about the development of the halal industry, in particular halal tourism, the first deputy chairman of the RMC noted that in December 2017 there was a meeting with the delegation of The Qasr Bodrum Halal Resort holding. He said the organizations developed cooperation related to charity: the "Turk Diyanet Vakfi" charitable foundation, which is subordinate to the Directorate of Religious Affairs of Turkey, together with the RMC conducts annual campaigns to support those in need during the month of Ramadan and Islamic holidays.

He also recalled that in March 2017 the RMC delegation met the Deputy Director General of the " Turk Diyanet Vakfi " foundation, Mr. Abdurrahman Cetin, and the head of the Department of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Dursun Aygun.

At the end of his speech, Rushan Abbyasov also emphasized that meetings with high delegations from Turkey were held within the framework of cooperation activities.

The main objectives of the Russian-Turkish public forum include the development of public relations and mutual understanding between the two countries in the spheres of culture and art, education and science, history, media, business climate, tourism, interreligious dialogue, legal issues and other areas