MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. The first Russian-Arab forum will be organized in early October under the auspices of the League of Arab States (LAS), the Roscongress Foundation press service told TASS.
Russian Presidential Adviser Anton Kobyakov, Ambassador of Bahrain to Russia Ahmed Abdulrahman Al Saati, Head of the LAS mission in Russia Walid Hamed Shiltagh and representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry reviewed preparations for the event at a meeting.
"The parties have discussed preparations for the Russian-Arab forum, which will take place in early October under the auspices of the League of Arab States and will be attended by officials from ministries and agencies, heads of diplomatic missions, representatives of the business and expert communities of Russia and LAS states. The event will be organized by the Roscongress Foundation," the press service reported.
Kobyakov noted that "holding the forum will be a logical continuation of this work, as well as an important stage in the practical implementation of the decisions that will be reached at the upcoming meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia and the Arab states." "The forum will make it possible to translate political agreements into cooperation with the business community. I am sure that the forum will enable us to give our strategic partnership concrete substance through joint projects and will contribute to the further strengthening of cooperation across the Eurasian region," he said. The presidential adviser stated that "relations between Russia and the Arab states are reaching a qualitatively new level, and this concerns not only political dialogue, but also trade, investment, industrial cooperation, infrastructural projects, culture, and humanitarian cooperation."
"We highly value the level of cooperation with Russia and express gratitude to the Roscongress Foundation for the professional organization of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which has become an effective platform for advancing Russian-Arab dialogue. Today, it is especially important to establish a permanent mechanism for cooperation, including a project office in Moscow, which will unite state institutions, business and expert communities of our countries. Holding the Russian-Arab forum will be an important contribution to strengthening stability across the Eurasian region in the face of modern international challenges," the ambassador of Bahrain to Russia said.
Moreover, the parties discussed the preparation of an agreement between the Roscongress Foundation and the LAS, which "will serve as a basis for the systematic preparation of the forum and for the development of practical cooperation, as well as the establishment of a permanent project office in Moscow to promote cooperation between Russia and the Arab states."