Kazan to Host SMIIC General Assembly as Tatarstan Pushes Halal Standards

Kazan, the capital of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan, will host the General Assembly of SMIIC, the Standards and Metrology Institute of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Russia's standards agency Rosstandart proposed the event, and a resolution approved it at the organisation's 20th session. Russia, which holds observer status, will be the first observer country to host the General Assembly.

The events run from 26 to 28 October. A 21st General Assembly will take place on 28 October, and the 32nd session of the Board of Directors on 27 October. Participants from Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and other countries are expected. Rosstandart head Anton Shalaev and Tatarstan Prime Minister Aleksey Pesoshin co-chair the organising committee.

According to the republic's Ministry of Agriculture, Tatarstan's halal product exports reached $45 million in 2025, and the region aims to raise this to $50 million in 2026. Abbas Shlyaposhnikov, chair of the halal standards committee of the Muslim Spiritual Board of Tatarstan, said a halal laboratory is planned in the republic.