4th annual conference of the Middle East Dialogue of the Valdai International Discussion Club, titled “Islam in Politics: Ideology or Pragmatism?”, will take place in Marrakesh, Morocco, on May 14-15.
Issues of commonalities and differences in the Muslim communities of Russia and Canada, as well as problems of their integration into the legal frameworks of their respective countries, were the main topics of discussion at the conference Muslims in Russia, the CIS, and Canada: Cohabitation and Cooperation
The conference Muslims in Russia, the CIS, and Canada: Cohabitation and Cooperation presented by Carleton’ Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Department of Political Science, the Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam, and the Valdai Discussion Club is to be held on March 8, 2013 at the Carleton University, Ottawa.
The analytical report “Russia’s Economy: after Transformation, before Modernization” was prepared after discussions at the Valdai Discussion Club Summit held on October 21–22, 2012. The report incorporates many of the conclusions on Russia’s political development contained in the 2011 Valdai report “Russia Should Not Miss Its Chance: Development Scenarios”.
The Russia Development Index (Valdai Index) reflects the combined opinion of the world's leading experts on Russia as regards Russia’s political, economic, social, cultural and international performance. The annual poll aims to study changes in Russia’s development trends over a year. It is important that respondents assess not the current situation, but changes.
The analytical report “Military Reform: Toward the New Look of the Russian Army” summarizes the results of the conference of the Valdai Discussion Club Defense and Security section titled “Modernization of Russia’s Armed Forces and Cooperation in International Security” which was held on May 25-27, 2011 in Moscow.
It is the common wealth, or the accumulated and permanently growing public wealth that has real significance. A growing national economy as such is a factor of attraction. Broadening markets promise lucrative contracts to any economic partner.
Today the world is about to make a new technological breakthrough which is linked with the interaction of information and communication technology, and the development of medicine and biotechnology. Russia’s certain achievements in these spheres will allow it to become a serious global player.
International business in Russia works in different ways. Businesses come and invest in Russia, but these investments are limited due to the considerable barriers of bureaucracy, law, lack of trust and local business behavior. So what is the problem with Russia?
Investments among BRICS countries are staying on the very low rate. At the moment BRICS countries mainly invest to developed countries (USA, EU), and also to countries which are close with their geographic position. The BRICS Development bank could play the role of new integral institution.
A week before the fifth BRICS Summit in Durban Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Concept of Participation of the Russian Federation in BRICS. Today different global government frameworks like G20, where Russia is presiding this year, and BRICS meeting this week are in search for the new financial architecture in the modern world.
According to various pragmatic criteria, Russia should be an attractive country for foreign investment: its increasing transit economy, significant energy sources, and the availability of undeveloped territory are all important factors. However, experts believe that the percentage of foreign investment in Russia remains fairly low. There are other aspects of Russian business that are not translated or described in textbooks.
Instead of establishing a new state-owned corporation, the government should take a completely different approach to making Siberia and the Far East prosperous. Russia is a natural balancing force in the region, rather than just China’s sidekick. Yet, for some reason, this is more evident when the situation is viewed from Siberia rather than from Moscow
The current contract portfolio of Russian arms exporters is worth about $46 billion. Annual exports total $15 billion, and this will ensure uninterrupted deliveries for the next three years, even in the worst-case scenario. The list of the main buyers of Russian weapons is unlikely to change drastically.
Moscow views the incident as falling within the boundaries of traditional rivalry between the secret services of both superpowers.
In light of the present situation in the Middle East, Russia and Israel find themselves facing common challenges. Under these newly emerging situations, Russia sees its partnership with Israel as a potential asset in resolving acute regional issues. From a Russian perspective, the compatibility of Israeli and Russian interests could contribute to such a partnership.
The failure of the Islamist political parties who came to power in the dramatic events of the Arab Spring would allow the military to reenter the political arena. Political Islam was successful in the opposition, but it could fail in power, as the negative experience of Egypt and Iraq have shown.
