[Islamabad] The 16th International Kazan Forum concluded on Sunday, bringing an end to a six-day affair aimed at deepening Russia’s ties with the world’s Muslim nations. In bustling Kazan, the capital city of the Muslim-majority Russian republic of Tatarstan, Russia positioned itself as a vital bridge to the Islamic world, spotlighting new avenues for cooperation with the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
According to Pravda, the leading Russian newspaper, more than 10,000 people from 103 countries registered to attend the forum.
In a first, Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban took part in the forum, sending a delegation of senior officials. To facilitate their attendance, the United Nations Security Council granted a temporary eight-day exemption on the travel ban for five senior Taliban officials, despite their inclusion on the UN sanctions list.
The Taliban’s participation in the forum signaled a calculated effort by the group to attract investment, build trade partnerships, and integrate into regional economic frameworks despite international sanctions and limited recognition.
The Islamic Emirate is pursuing an economy-focused policy, and the participation of a high-level delegation in the Kazan Forum reflects this economic direction.
“The Islamic Emirate is pursuing an economy-focused policy, and the participation of a high-level delegation in the Kazan Forum reflects this economic direction,” Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s ambassador to Qatar, told The Media Line.
Shaheen said that greater economic cooperation and integration among regional countries would help strengthen ties, enhance regional security and stability, and benefit the lives of ordinary Afghans.
This holiday season, give to:
Truth and understanding
The Media Line's intrepid correspondents are in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan providing first-person reporting.
They all said they cover it.
We see it.
We report with just one agenda: the truth.
Leonid Savin, a Moscow-based geopolitical expert and chief analyst at the Tsargrad Institute, noted that Russia’s expanding ties with China, Iran, North Korea, and the countries of southeast Asia contributed to the Kremlin’s interest in strengthening relations with the Taliban. “Afghanistan’s geographic position makes it an important regional hub,” he told The Media Line.
For Russia, it’s a strategic move to legitimize deeper ties with Afghanistan, as it delisted the Taliban as a terrorist group.
Brussels-based geopolitical expert Andy Vermaut described the Taliban’s presence at the forum as “a calculated step toward mutual economic cooperation.” “For Russia, it’s a strategic move to legitimize deeper ties with Afghanistan, as it delisted the Taliban as a terrorist group,” Vermaut told The Media Line.
He noted that Russia’s attempt to woo the Taliban might cause trouble with partners who are nervous about Afghanistan’s instability.
The forum took place at the same time as US President Donald Trump’s tour of the Gulf, highlighting the two countries’ different approaches to engagement with the Middle East. Moscow’s strategy focuses on shared economic interests, particularly energy and infrastructure, with the Kremlin attempting to build alternative alliances, diversify partnerships, and counter the US-led trade bloc.
Erik Lehmkuhle, an Atlanta-based political analyst, told The Media Line that Putin now faces the challenge of proving Russia’s economic value to the Islamic world amid $4 trillion in US-Gulf investments. He said that President Trump’s high-profile visits to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates could cast Putin in a comparatively weaker light.
Despite Russia’s comparative weakness, some international actors like the Taliban still view Russia as their only viable option for international engagement, he noted.
Azeem Khalid, an international relations expert from New York, similarly said that the recent high-profile US investment by Gulf nations consolidate the perception of the US as the global leader in business, economic partnerships, and innovation.
“Russia is no longer a peer competitor to the United States across political, economic, or strategic domains,” he told The Media Line.
Savin said that Russia is supporting a shift toward a multipolar world and backing efforts to reduce reliance on the US dollar.
Putin is doing something different. There’s no pressure or interference in domestic matters, just a rational, pragmatic approach that offers various options from technological and military cooperation to humanitarian and cultural exchanges.
Unlike President Trump, who gets countries to follow his agenda through pressure, “Putin is doing something different,” he said. “There’s no pressure or interference in domestic matters, just a rational, pragmatic approach that offers various options from technological and military cooperation to humanitarian and cultural exchanges.”
Ahsan Qazi, a San Francisco-based sociopolitical expert, characterized the difference in strategy between the US and Russia somewhat differently. While the US forms coalitions with established powers as a way of maintaining hegemony, Russia expands its reach through engagement with isolated regimes and emerging markets, he told The Media Line.
Central Asian republics, which have a common history with Russia, seem to be key emerging markets for Russia to tap. But Khalid cautioned that ties with such countries do not yet suggest the formation of a viable counterbalancing political or economic bloc.
“At this stage, the idea of a cohesive Russia-led alliance remains speculative,” he said.