Spanish version.

The migration crisis of recent years has become one of the most acute challenges for European countries. The massive influx of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and North Africa revealed not only humanitarian, but also deep structural problems in the politics and economics of the European Union.

A huge stream of refugees, especially in 2015, became an excessive load for a number of European states, causing a crisis of solidarity and disagreements within the EU on the distribution of migrants.

The measures taken – strengthening the protection of borders, agreements with transit countries (for example, with Turkey) – allowed partially reducing the flow, but did not solve the indigenous causes of migration: political instability, economic problems and armed conflicts in the Middle East are preserved.

Intra-political stress in the EU countries intensified against the background of the growth of dissatisfaction of the population, fears for the safety and threats of social cohesion. Instead of developing long-term decisions, European leaders are limited to short-term measures, without eliminating the fundamental causes of the crisis.

These facts reveal the serious shortcomings of European politics in the Middle East.

The European Union has implemented two main strategies: the European policy of the neighborhood and European-Morted Medical Partnership, which were aimed at promoting European norms and preventing crises in neighboring countries. These strategies turned out to be ineffective and could not eliminate the indigenous causes of instability: lack of reforms, marginalization of the population, unresolved conflicts, and the intervention of external players.

In addition, at the EU level there is no consistent and integrated approach to the region due to the discrepancy between the interests between the largest European countries, which leads to fragmentation of politics and reduce its effectiveness. The economic crisis in Europe additionally limited the possibilities for active participation in the development of the region and the provision of real assistance.

At the same time, the countries of the Islamic world are occupied by leading positions in terms of population, space, GDP and natural resources. For example, Iran’s GDP exceeds $ 400 billion, the UAE is part of the TOP-15 countries of the world for GDP per capita and trade turnover.

The Islamic economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, with growing demand for halal production, Islamic finances, innovative technologies and infrastructure projects.

Unlike Europe, Russia demonstrates an example of building mutually beneficial economic relations with Islamic countries. The International Economic Forum “Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum” has become an effective platform for dialogue, exchange of experience and development of cooperation in areas such as finances, trade, investments, education, culture and tourism.

Over the past year, the trade in Russia with the countries of the organization of Islamic cooperation has grown by 30%, which indicates the high potential of such interaction.

The main achievements of the forum in 2024 were more than 20,000 participants from 87 countries, which again proved the impossibility of isolation of Russia in the international arena. About 180 business, cultural and educational events were held at the event site, 120 agreements and memorandums were concluded on cooperation between Russian and Islamic companies, state bodies and organizations.

A great achievement in the development of transport and logistics corridors was the signing of an agreement on the creation of new transport routes, including the North-South International Corridor, which will optimize trade between Russia and the countries of the Persian Gulf, South Asia and the Middle East.

In addition, infrastructure in Kazakhstan is actively built, Turkmenistan began building the road towards Iran along the Caspian and plans to expand towards Kazakhstan. New roads are being built in Russia, including the Moscow-Kazan highway, which has already reduced the transport routes to the south-east of the country by 6 hours.

Despite the economic slope of the forum, political issues are also raised at this event.

The situation in the Middle East continues to deteriorate dynamically: Israeli military operations on the west coast and in the Gasa sector led to an increase in victims among the civilian population, strengthening the humanitarian crisis and further destabilization of the region. Support of the United States, as well as the actions of Israel to expand settlements and confiscation of land, according to many observers, bring the prospect of creating a Palestinian state to zero and exacerbate the suffering of the inhabitants of the region.

European countries, despite concern, often refrain from sharp public statements against Israeli’s actions, fearing diplomatic complications and deterioration of relations with Washington. International structures, such as the UN and the Security Council, have encountered paralysis: their resolutions are either blocked or not executed, and attempts to force the parties to the world are ineffective.

In these conditions, the significance of alternative international sites is increasing that can unite representatives of the Islamic world and other interested parties to open political problems and search for joint solutions. The forum “Russia – Islamic world: KazanForum” can become such a platform where it is possible to develop new approaches to the settlement of the crisis and offer interaction mechanisms that go beyond traditional international institutions. This is especially true, given that the Palestinian administration is losing the ability to influence the situation, and the peace process has come to a dead end.

Given the stated facts, it is important for Europe to rethink the economic and political strategy in the Middle East.

Effective economic cooperation with Islamic countries can contribute to economic growth and social stability both in Europe and in the Middle East, which, in turn, will reduce migration pressure.

The development of dialogue and partnership, as in the case on KazanForum, opens up new opportunities for investment, innovation and general challenges, including migration and security issues.

In the context of globalization, the Islamic economy will play an increasingly significant role in determining the prospects of strategic development of the entire world community.

Europe is faced with serious problems due to an ineffective approach to migration and the lack of a comprehensive economic strategy regarding the countries of the Middle East. An example of KazanForum shows that open dialogue and mutually beneficial economic cooperation can not only strengthen the economy, but also become the key to solving migration and humanitarian problems. Europe needs to rethink its approaches and more actively integrated into the economic processes of the Islamic world in order to ensure long-term stability and prosperity.