The Middle East: When Will Tomorrow Come?
Lotte Hotel Moscow, 8 bld.2, Novinskiy Blvd., Moscow
Programme
List of speakers

On February 27-28, the Valdai Discussion Club, in partnership with the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, will hold a conference, titled “The Middle East: When Will Tomorrow Come?” The conference will be held in the format of an expert dialogue attended by politicians, scholars and diplomats from over 25 countries that play an active role in the region.

In recent years, the Middle East has been one of the international community’s key issues, becoming a sort of enfant terrible of global politics. As a result, pressing tasks in the Middle Eastern have included an end to regional violence, a war on terror, improvement of governance, increased investment, solution of a multiple regional problems and so on. According to Vitaly Naumkin, President of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, “initiatives of western actors traditionally involved in the events have often demonstrated their low effectiveness. Although, regional players have also often been unprepared to understand the logic of global powers.”

It’s possible that the new leaders of European countries and the US will be able to abandon ideological stereotypes and go on the path of realism, while regional actors are able to develop balanced strategies. The changes that began in the Middle East give rise to an array of questions. First of all, how do regional players perceive the recent shifts? What role in the region’s future do they give to non-regional players? What do they expect from the new US administration? What do they expect from Russia? Can China play a bigger role? How will non-state actors react to the ongoing changes? How will the role of economic factors in regional interactions change? Are global and regional powers capable of cooperation to stop the vicious circle of violence and brutality? Finally, what strategy should Russia pick? This and other questions will be discussed at the 6th Valdai Discussion Club Middle Eastern Conference.

Location: Lotte Hotel Moscow (8 bld.2, Novinskiy Blvd., Moscow)

Information for media: to attend, please fill the accreditation form or call +7 915 077 97 22 – Maria Miklushevskaya; +7 926 930 77 63 – Sergei Melnikov.

Information for participants: Registration is closed.