On September 30, the 16th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club opened in Sochi. This year, it is dedicated to the issues of the East in general – in particular, to the role of non-Western countries in the building of the new world order. These trends became the subject of Club’s annual report titled “Time to Grow Up, or the Case for Anarchy,” which was presented at the first session.
At the second session, “Middle East as a World Politics Lab,” the experts discussed how differently Western and non-Western countries approach the problems of this turbulent region.
At the special session on energy, two high-ranking guests, namely Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary General, OPEC, and Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, observed the changes in the energy market and the new challenges that appear due to them.
The day ended with the Valdai Award Ceremony. John Mearsheimer, the modern classic of political neorealism, became this year’s winner.
The Valdai Annual Meeting will run from September 30 to October 3. You can find the schedule of sessions and broadcasts in the programme on our website. It will also feature photo galleries, video interviews with participants, and analytical notes on the results of each day.