The third day of the 16th Annual meeting of the Valdai Club Sochi was very eventful in terms of topics diversity.
It began with the session “How Asia Works. Asia-Pacific, Indo-Pacific and Other Strategic Constructs". Experts stressed the unique feature of this region - there are no rigid blocs and alliances, and therefore the integration policy should not be carried out by force, but by stimulating the interests of Asian states. Russia's main export products there are not gas or oil, but the creation of an open, comfortable environment for Asian countries.
The session, titled “Middle East in the General Context of Russia’s Policy”, was one of the most interesting. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was among the speakers. Video broadcast of the session is available on Programme.
The third session was devoted to the problems of migration and its consequences. The regulations of refugees flows to Europe were touched upon, including positive experience of Australia and Canada.
The topic of technological confrontation was the focus of the closing session of the Day 3. Experts emphasized that “technologies are not at war,” but they serve as a tool to more or less successful participation in a particular confrontation. Issues of new challenges for society related to the expansion of robotization and the growing demand for energy resources were also discussed. At the same time, experts agreed that you cannot have dinner, for example, with your smartphone, even in the digital era. We need to take care of people, their health and well-being, and not just to improve the machines.
This year, the Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club is lasting for four days - from September 30th to October 3th. Almost all sessions will traditionally be held according to the Chatham House Rule. But we will prepare analytical notes for you each day. You can watch online broadcasts of the most interesting discussions on our website.
October 3
17:00 - 19:00 Plenary session. The World Order, Seen from the East
The schedule of all discussions and speakers can be found in the Programme.