JEDDAH — A meeting of the Group of Strategic Vision (GSV) — Russia-Islamic World — will kick off on Wednesday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

The meeting will be held under the theme "Dialogue and Prospects for Cooperation". It will also include a broad participation of officials and scholars, and intellectuals from the Russian Federation and Islamic countries to discuss common issues and enhance cooperation in addressing the existing challenges.

The GSV includes 33 state and public figures from 27 Muslim countries, including former prime ministers, former ministers of foreign affairs and many religious figures from the Islamic world.

This meeting comes within the framework of Russia's efforts to strengthen its relations with the Islamic world, in light of the Kingdom's initiative for dialogue between followers of religions and cultures.

Saudi Arabia is hosting this meeting for the second time after the fourth session also in Jeddah, 2008.

The group currently focuses on developing measures to strengthen long-term cooperation between Russia and Islamic countries and practical implementation of the strategic partnership.

The Group was established in 2006 under the supervision of Evgeny Maksimovich Primakov and Mintimer Sharipovich Shaimiev after the Russian Federation joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as an observer member. The group held its first meeting in 2006 in Moscow, followed by the meetings in Kazan, Istanbul, Jeddah and Kuwait.

Ufa of the Republic Bashkortostan hosted the last GSV meeting on November 28-30, 2019, under the theme "Interfaith harmony ... The Experience of Russia and Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation". — SPA