A seminar meeting was held in Pyatigorsk with participation of government bodies’ representatives from Russia’s federal constituent entities comprising the North Caucasus Federal District. The main topic of the meeting, held in accordance with presidential instructions, was the implementation of Russia’s State Ethnic Policy Strategy through to 2025 in the North Caucasus Federal District.
Opening the seminar, Alexander Khloponin noted that the Strategy was adopted in December 2012 and today, it is imperative to understand the level of the regions’ involvement in its implementation, and whether the measures being taken by regional authorities are adequate to resolve the challenges of strengthening the unity and integrity of the Russian nation, maintaining the ethno-cultural identity of the peoples living in the North Caucasus.
In his speech, Magomedsalam Magomedov noted that ethnic problems in the nation are now less acute as compared to the end of 2013, but expressed concern with regard to the fact that a large part of citizens still believe that ethnic conflicts are highly probable in certain regions of the North Caucasus Federal District. Mr Magomedov called on regional authorities to carefully monitor interethnic relations and take systemic measures to decrease tensions in this area.
Mr Magomedov called on the regional leaders to resolve several priority challenges identified by the President as quickly as possible, including the adoption of comprehensive plans to implement the State Ethnic Policy Strategy, creation of consultative and advisory bodies on interethnic relations to support the regional heads, provision of comprehensive information support for implementing state ethnic policy, creation of infrastructure for working with foreign migrants, and organisation of work at regional centres for analysing and monitoring interethnic and interfaith relations.
Participants in the seminar meeting included Member of the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations and Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for Ethnology and Anthropology Valery Tishkov, Deputy Prosecutor General Ivan Sydoruk, Deputy Regional Development Minister Vasily Kopytov, and representatives from academic and expert communities.