The Russian Federation confirmed on Monday that the volume of energy investment in Iraq reached $19 billion, indicating that cultural and scientific cooperation developed intensively, revealing the program of the Kazan Forum.

"The countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which includes Iraq, have significantly increased their cooperation with Russia, while the total volume of trade increased by 30% during the past year. The rapprochement between the two parties will continue at the 16th International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: Kazan Forum", which will be held from May 13 to 18 in the Russian Federation, cooperation between Russia and Iraq will be an important issue for the participants," according to a statement by Russia - to the Islamic world.

The statement added, "Iraq and Russia have many points of contact and foundations for developing cooperation, for example: developing the oil and gas industry. This field is a pioneer in trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, as the total volume of Russian investments in the energy sector in Iraq amounted to more than $19 billion."

"Cultural, humanitarian, scientific and educational cooperation is developing intensively, as thousands of Iraqis study in Russian universities, and advanced training courses are organized for employees of the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs," the statement pointed out, adding that "the previous Kazan 2024 Forum brought together more than 20,000 participants, including 11,978 participants in the business program from 87 countries, including 57 countries in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and represented more than 40 diplomatic missions from Europe, Asia and Africa. About 180 events were held within the framework of the forum, which led to the conclusion of 120 agreements." 

The statement included, "Traditionally, the participants in the Kazan Forum are prominent experts from the Islamic world: representatives of international organizations, national diplomatic missions, Islamic clerics, government authorities, financial institutions, large international companies, deputies, investors, businessmen, heads of media organizations and media outlets. The forum aims to strengthen trade, economic, scientific, technical, educational, social, and cultural relations between the Russian Federation and the OIC countries."