On December 4-5, 2023, the Valdai Club headquarters in Moscow hosted the Club’s 14th Asian Conference. Experts from India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Thailand, Mongolia, and Japan came to Russia to take part. Before the conference, our foreign participants also met with Andrey Rudenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia. The Valdai Club Asian conference continued the discussion about the future world order that began at the Club’s 20th Annual Meeting.
Programme of the 14th Asian Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club
Moscow, December 4-5, 2023
December 4, Monday
15:00 – 15:05 Opening of the conference (English, Russian)
15:05 – 16:30 Session 1. The Most Important Regional Development Processes in Asia (English, Russian)
For decades, the Asian region has been an ideal example of low international tensions, the preparedness of states to cooperate and their orientation towards economic development. Now the global situation is changing, with serious changes occurring in the international order as a whole, and the regulatory and mediating role of institutions weakening. Interstate alliances in Asia are not free from the negative impacts of global instability. The session objective is to identify the most urgent trends in the development of modern Asia, indicate the main problems, factors mitigating the negative impact of global and interstate contradictions, and potential ways of the region's development in the future.
17:00 – 18:30 Session 2. Potential for Defusing International Tensions
The increase in international tensions along the Russia-West and China-US lines is the factor that most threatens the stability and development of the Asia-Pacific region. Russia, as well as Asian countries, is interested in ensuring that the existing conflicts do not have a decisive impact on the international environment and do not lead to the collapse of existing economic and political ties. In light of this, defusing international tensions is a priority goal of the political dialogue between Russia and Asian states in modern conditions. Its achievement will make it possible to comprehend how to mitigate the consequences of the objective growth of contradictions in the Asian region and globally. What efforts can be taken to ensure that the state of affairs in world politics is regulated and protected from dangerous escalation remains the key question.
December 5, Tuesday
10:00 – 11:30 Session 3. Globalisation and Regionalisation: Approaches and Possibilities of Interaction (English, Russian)
The combination of globalisation and regionalisation is one of the main features of the world economy development and institutional cooperation in the modern period. Various stresses experienced by the world economy, interruption and instability of supply chains, political risks are perceived as a threat to the integrity of the global market and universal connectivity. Simultaneously, the trend towards the creation of regional and macro-regional associations on the basis of preferential trade agreements and the realization of cross-border development projects continues. There is a growing need to better understand how the processes of globalization and regionalization interact, and how cooperation at the regional level can contribute to the preservation of a global open economy.
12:00 – 13:30 Session 4. Accomplishments and Potential of Relations Between Russia and Asian Countries in Modern Conditions (English, Russian)
The pivot to the East has been a priority direction of Russian foreign and economic policy for a decade now. It is focused on the objective growth of importance of Asian countries and regional markets in the world economy, the emergence of new technologies and demand for Russian products. Over the past eighteen months, the development of relations with Asian countries has received an additional incentive due to the crisis in Europe as well as the interest of almost all Asian states in maintaining and strengthening trade and economic relations with Russia. The pivot to the East is also facilitated by the division between politics and economics inherent in Asia, the low degree of politicization of various forms of relations, and the desire of Asian states to keep all doors open. At the same time, the potential for sustainability of relations between Russia and Asian countries in the long term is also of great importance.
