On Tuesday, November 19, Russian business representatives met with Deputy Minister of Economy of Afghanistan Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul. He invited Russian entrepreneurs and investors to look for prospective collaboration in various sectors of the country’s economy, including industry, trade, transport, agriculture, healthcare and infrastructure.
In addition to Baradar, other members of the Taliban government (continuing status as an organization banned in Russia) were also at the meeting. Among them are – Acting Minister of Trade Nuriddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Urban Development Hamdullah Numani and Acting Minister of Transport Hamidullah Akhundzada.
Abdul Ghani Baradar said that Afghanistan is always ready to welcome domestic and foreign investors and will provide them with all the necessary conditions for doing business in the country. He assured his Russian and Afghan colleagues of his readiness for partnership, emphasizing the rich natural resources of his state.
The Russian delegation expressed deep interest in investing in Afghanistan, in particular in such sectors as transport, railways, healthcare and agriculture, and also expressed readiness to share experience and cooperate with the Islamic Emirate to achieve mutual benefit, the Afghan side stated. Russian-Afghan cooperation continues to gain momentum, despite the Taliban movement’s continuing status as an organization banned in Russia.
On August 27–28, 2024, Moscow hosted the IMBRICS FORUM — the VI International Municipal Forum of the BRICS Countries.
The event has become an important platform for exchanging experiences and ideas between representatives of regional and municipal governments from the BRICS countries. It also helped build effective business communications with entrepreneurs from Russia and other partner countries.
The forum included a round table discussion on the role of extracurricular education and international cooperation in children’s and youth education. Experience of BRICS cities and municipalities, which was devoted to discussing issues of children’s and youth recreation in camps, as well as extracurricular education. The event was attended by representatives of legislative and executive bodies of state power in Russia, heads of Russian and foreign children’s camps and non-profit organizations. In particular, the event was attended by Boris Chernyshov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Natalya Agre, Director of the Department of State Policy in the Sphere of Education, Supplementary Education and Children’s Recreation of the Ministry of Education of Russia, Sandra Goulart Urioste, Director of English Camp (Brazil), Fahrettin Gozet, President of the Canadian NGO International Camping Fellowship (ICF) Fahrettin Gozet (Turkey) and Nie Aijun, President of the Board of The Institute for Camp Education in China . The speakers delivered reports, shared their experience in organizing the area of activity under consideration, and discussed existing initiatives to expand the activities of the camp movement and extracurricular education, including in the BRICS countries.
The particular focus was on the Turkish speaker Fahrettin Gozet, who delivered a report on “Collaborative Initiatives Among BRICS Countries: Strengthening Youth Engagement”. In his report, he noted ICF as a key participant in strengthening cooperation between youth camps around the world, including the BRICS countries, whose mission is to strengthen youth engagement through joint initiatives. He explained how ICF programs and initiatives create opportunities for cooperation among BRICS countries in the field of youth engagement, using the strengths and resources of its international network. Fahrettin Gozet also gave examples of cooperation carried out with the assistance of ICF, such as a partnership between Russian and South African camps aimed at developing leadership skills and cultural exchange, promoting the involvement of youth across borders.
As a result, the participants agreed on further interaction with each other, the implementation of joint projects aimed at developing extracurricular education.
The two-day that is held on August, 27-28, is a unique platform for exchanging experience and ideas between representatives of regional and municipal governments from the BRICS countries, as well as for building effective business communications with entrepreneurs from Russia and other partner countries. The event is held with the support of the Presidential Administration and the Russian Foreign Ministry, as well as with the assistance of Rossotrudnichestvo and the Government of Moscow.
The Forum is yet another proof of inefficiency of the sanctions imposed on Russia – the country regularly hosts international events and continues global trade.
Moreover, the expansion of BRICS has become a turning point both for the association itself and for the new members and their partners. Behind the obvious economic, logistical and trade benefits are long-term strategic goals that, on the one hand, will entail changes in global markets, and on the other, will accelerate the process of reorienting the focus of international cooperation that has already started.
The once proclaimed trend of “turning to the East” is now acquiring a new focus – turning to the South. The global interest is shifting towards the countries of Southeast Asia and Africa, with which the Russia has already established business, economic, and trade ties, as well as partnerships in the field of migration policy and human capital. Thus, the BRICS has all the chances to become a new geopolitical center, strengthening its diplomatic, political and economic influence in the world.
And while this process has already started the West is hardly to be a part of the game.
The BRICS IMF is a regular event. In 2022, the BRICS IMF was included in the text of the Beijing Declaration of the XIV BRICS Summit (paragraph 70) and designated until 2030 as a significant mechanism for promoting urban development and establishing ties between sister cities of the BRICS countries within the framework of the Sustainable Development Agenda.
The 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum brought together leaders of leading Russian and foreign companies, representatives of government agencies, the political and scientific community in order to establish business contacts, find new partners, promising projects under discussion, and exchange views on current trends in world. politics and economics in broad and regional markets.
The prestige of the Forum as one of the most significant business events in the world continues to grow steadily. The forum is becoming more dynamic and sharper: decisions are made quickly and new projects are launched right after panel sessions.
Anton Kobyakov, the Advisor to the Russia’s President and Executive Secretary of the SPIEF Organizing Committee, noted: “This year, 21,800 people from 139 countries and territories took part in the Forum events. The Forum brought together representatives of countries interested in developing their paradigm of justice and a multipolar world.”
The freedom to choose the political and economic orientation of various world powers is confirmed by the slogan of SPIEF 2024: “The foundation of a multipolar world creates new points of growth.”
Key participants
Despite the sanctions against Russia, a record number of participants attended the Forum in 2024, which exceeded the figures of recent years. Guests and participants of the event gathered to discuss international trade and cooperation, sales markets, technology leadership and investment.
Leaders of four states arrived in St. Petersburg: President of Bolivia Luis Alberto Arcecora, President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania, President of the Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Milorad Dodik.
Forums became members of the royal families of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia: Abdullah Khalifa Salman Alkhalifa and Abdulaziz binman Sall bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Deals and contracts
In the St. Petersburg industrial sector (SPIEF), 1,073 agreements were signed in 2024 for a total amount of almost 6.5 trillion rubles, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the Roscongress Foundation.
“As a result of the forum, 1,073 agreements worth 6 trillion 492 billion rubles were signed (only agreements that are not subsequently considered a commercial secret are taken into account), of which 55 were with the participation of foreign companies,” the statement says.
According to Roscongress, the most valuable is the agreement between VEB.RF and PJSC RusHydro on the implementation of global generation projects in the Far East. It is planned that the program for creating and updating energy employment in the sectors will be implemented using the “Project Financing Factory” mechanism.
So far, 17,100 people and 3,400 representatives from 136 countries including Turkey have confirmed their participation in SPIEF.
The organizers of the Forum note that participation indicators have reached pre-Covid levels: the period of restoration of economic activity is over, and the Forum is in a growth phase. As a communication tool, it is in demand by the global business community.
Today, SPIEF is one of the sovereign centers for the development of Europe, which is a historical restructuring that implements the mission of maintaining the global balance of power and building a multipolar international system. It also provides conditions for development based on the continental and constructive development of the day, dictated by the national interests of the Russian Federation. The forum has become a full-fledged institute for national growth.
The business program covers a wide range of issues: from the development of international economic relations and technological transformations to priority science research the studies of the modern society. The headline of the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is “The basis of multipolarity causes the growth of new centers.”
On the eve of SPIEF, several conferences are held annually in different countries. This year, the final session took place in the capital of the Republic of Costa Rica – San Jose. The location was not chosen by chance – it was Costa Rica that became the first country in Central America to establish official diplomatic contacts with Russia back in 1872. Over the more than 150-year history of relations, a strong bond has been established between the two governments.
In Russia, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will be held from June 5 to 8.
“The hegemony of the West has come to an end, and the time for a new world order is coming”. This statement was made by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on March 5 during the annual meeting of the country’s ambassadors at the Foreign Ministry.
“The hegemony of the West is over, today no one disputes this, this can be well supported by data <…> A new world order is being formed, the situation must be constantly analyzed and analyzed,” the Haon media platform quotes him.
In his opinion, Western countries would like to split the world into geopolitical blocs. Currently, Orban argues, the West is putting enormous pressure on states, including Hungary, that are reducing the level of sovereignty.
Interestingly it may seem, but the view of the Hungarian leader is very popular today in the international diplomatic community. The recent article published in the FT Times claimed Dubai is the new Davos, while such international groups and organizations like G7 are getting less attention in comparison with rapidly expanding BRICS, SCO and other interregional groups of the “new world”.
In this regard, Russia as a supporter of the new trend and in fact one of its setters, holds a large-scale meeting of participants in the World Forum “New Era – New Paths”. The event will be held on April, 19 in Moscow.
The World Forum “New Era – New Paths” was created by the International Organization of Eurasian Cooperation (IOEC) and brings together representatives of government and business authorities, experts, scientists and cultural figures from the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, the CIS, Eastern and South East Asia, Africa, Persian Gulf and other regions.
The World Forum is a permanent platform. Its goals are to jointly create a fair world order, develop and promote instruments of multipolarity.
“A new architecture of the world is being formed. New forms of economic, energy, technological cooperation are being formed today. The initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin to create a Greater Eurasian Partnership is gaining clear contours. The World Forum “New Era – New Paths” is becoming one of the drivers of integration processes in Greater Eurasia,” said MOES President Dmitry Stasyulis.
The event will be attended by over 500 delegates from 33 countries: Russia, China, India, Belarus, the Kyrgyz Republic, Armenia, Kazakhstan, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Turkey, Hungary, Korea, Vietnam, Cote d’Ivoire, Angola and many others.
The geography of the participants is clearly showing the world is moving rather not to the East but the South East – it is where the Russian economic and political compass is set to today.
The business program will open with a plenary session. Speakers will discuss the instruments of a multipolar world order, the place of the Greater Eurasian Partnership in the system of the new world architecture, the integration of it with China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative and other topics.
