St Petersburg to Host Asian Valdai Club Conference on ‘Russia, Asia in Emerging International Order’
Winter in St. Petersbutg, Russia
Some 40 representatives from 13 countries, including political scientists, economists, and military experts from Russia, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, and Sweden will participate in the Valdai Club’s annual Asian Conference on December 13-14.Saint Petersburg will host the 13th Asian Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, an annual meeting dedicated to issues relevant to Asia. This year, the topic will cover “Russia and Asia in the Emerging International Order”. St. Petersburg is the cultural capital of Russia and the current hosting city of the Valdai Discussion Club.Valdai Club’s traditional Asian dialogue will bring together leaders and representatives of Valdai partner organizations from many Asia-Pacific countries. Participants from Vietnam, India, China, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, and Sweden will attend the conference. Experts from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan will come as well. Although formally they are not members of the Asia-Pacific Region, they have strong ties with the region. In total, the conference will bring together about 40 representatives from 13 countries.One of Russia’s priorities is to develop ties in the Asia-Pacific region not only because of its severed ties with the West but also as a continuation of its “Pivot to the East” strategy, which is considered to be a tool for tackling economic challenges.The five sessions of the conference will discuss the following topics:1.The development of Asia in the context of the disintegrating world order;2.Russia-Asia cooperation in the field of food and energy;3.Prospects for trade liberalization between Russia and Asia;4.Transport and financial coherence in Asia against the backdrop of declining international stability;5.Prospects for maintaining military and political stability in Asia.The timing the Asian Valdai Conference at the end of the year brings the discussion to bear on the outcomes of major international events in the region in recent months, such as the G20 Summit in Indonesia and the APEC summit in Thailand. While Indonesia was under considerable pressure from the United States during preparations for the summit, the Indonesian leadership took a principled position and advocated for the free and equal participation of all G20 representatives in the summit. Russia once again proved on both platforms that it remains an important player in the Asia-Pacific region and that important international decisions cannot be made without Russia’s participation.
‘Flattered to Listen to Putin Talking About Modi at Valdai’: Indian Expert28 October, 13:51 GMTThe Valdai Club Asia Conference is a continuation of the discussion that was launched at the 19th annual meeting of the Valdai Club in October of this year regarding the international community in the context of the transformation of the world order. Asian states now face the challenge of formulating their role in a new international environment where the weakening hegemony of the West is giving way to a multipolar world.The Asian Conference is a regional program of the Valdai Discussion Club aimed at discussing relations and cooperation between the countries of the Asia-Pacific Region and Russia, first held in Singapore back in 2013.