Valdai Club

On December 13-14, the MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry in partnership with the Valdai Discussion Club hosted the 3rd Russian-Indian Forum. The Indian coordinator is the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). The Valdai Club was represented by Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, and Ivan Timofeev, a Programme Director at the Club.

On December 13 at 11:00 the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion, titled “International order and political stability in Eurasia”, together with the presentation of the report “The Old World Revisited: Future of the International Order in Eurasia” (written by Andrei Sushentsov and Nikolai Silaev) and the Valdai Paper “Infrastructure Connectivity and Political Stability in Eurasia” (written by Yauheni Preiherman).

We are witnessing an unprecedented shift in the distribution of global wealth and power from West to East. The Old World, Eurasia, is regaining its lost historical leadership. At the same time, there are numerous contradictions in the region.

On December 12, at 11.00, the Valdai Discussion Club hosted an expert discussion dedicated to the issue of global climate change. Alexey Kokorin, Director of the Climate and Energy Programme of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Russia, Ekaterina Savorskaya, Assistant professor, School of World Politics, MSU were the speakers along with Clive Hamilton, Professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra (via video link).

On December 7, the Valdai Discussion Club hosted an expert discussion, titled “The Role of Russia in International Counter-Terrorism Cooperation” with the participation of Ilya Rogachev, Director of the Department for New Challenges and Threats of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

On December 5, at 10.00, the Valdai Discussion Club hosted an expert discussion on Russian-American relations. Problems and misunderstandings in relations between Moscow and Washington are becoming more and more frequent. The pain points are the announced US withdrawal from the INF treaty and prolongation of the START-III treaty.

On November 30, 2018, at 11:00, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion on the agenda of the G20 Summit in Argentina, which begins on the same day.

On November 29, 2018, the Valdai Discussion Club hosted an expert discussion on the maritime security of India featuring Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy.

On Novemder 22, the closing of the 9th Asian Regional Conference of the Valdai Club was held, featuring a presentation by Alexey Volin, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of Russia.

Participants in the fourth session of the Valdai Club’s Asian Regional Conference discussed the concepts of Greater Eurasia and Indo-Pacific. The South Asian countries consider the latter concept useful in terms of the regional balance of power. However, they realize that the ultimate goal of the United States, which promotes this initiative, is containing Beijing. According to experts, neither ASEAN states nor India share this goal.

Both Eurasian and ASEAN countries have a preference for a multipolar world order. This is not only driven by non-acceptance of domination of a single power, but also the interest to retain autonomy amidst a bipolar confrontation. See the photos from the third session of the Ninth Valdai Club Asian Conference in Kuala Lumpur.