The Valdai International Discussion Club will hold a session titled ‘Global Challenges and Opportunities for the Far East and the Arctic’ at the Eastern Economic Forum on 2 September. This marks the fifth time the Club has taken part in the Forum.
In previous years, the Valdai Club has focused on issues related to Russia’s pivot to the East at the EEF. Today, this pivot can be viewed as a fait accompli, as Russia has firmly gained a presence in the Asian region. For this reason, the Club’s session at the EEF will not be focusing on Russia’s presence in Asia, but on the quality of this presence.
The pandemic has resulted in significant adjustments to the external conditions needed to develop the Far East and the Arctic region and their integration into the global economy. There have been both positive factors, such as an increase in the scale of continental trade and interconnectedness in Eurasia, and negative factors, such as new non-tariff restrictions and barriers to international mobility. All these factors must be taken into account during the discussion of practical issues related to the region’s development. The Club intends to provide an analytical update of the state of the economy and politics in the Far East and Asia through the prism of Russia’s interests and capabilities.
The main goal of the session is to find an answer to the question: what new external factors need to be taken into account during the present stage of development of the Far East and the Arctic region? The guests of the Valdai session will include high-ranking politicians, representatives of big business, and intellectuals who specialize in political and economic processes in the Asia-Pacific region.
Andrey Bystritsky, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, will deliver an opening speech at the start of the session.
The following speakers have been announced for the session: University of Southeast Norway Professor Glenn Diesen; First Deputy Director General and Director for Development and International Business at the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Kirill Komarov; Scientific Director of the Institute for Economic Research at the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Pavel Minakir; Asia Society Policy Institute President and former Prime Minister of Australia (2007–2010 and 2013) Kevin Michael Rudd; and Sasakawa Peace Foundation President Atsushi Sunami. The session will be moderated by Timofey Bordachev, Director of the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.
