🎥 LIVE: at 12:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3), the Valdai Club will host an expert discussion dedicated to its 2nd Russian-African Conference, titled “Russia – Africa: Strategy for Cooperation in a Multipolar World”, which will take place on July 24 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

https://vk.com/video-214192832_456239202

#AfricanValdai #Africa

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🗣 On July 19, 2024, the Valdai Club will hosted an expert discussion dedicated to its 2nd Russian-African Conference, titled “Russia – Africa: Strategy for Cooperation in a Multipolar World”, which will take place on July 24 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

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🎥 Video

#AfricanValdai #Africa

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🇷🇺🌍 Russia and Africa: Reliable Partners

On July 19, the Valdai Club held an expert discussion dedicated to the 2nd Russian-African Conference, titled “Russia – Africa: A strategy for cooperation in a multipolar world,” which will take place on July 24 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Moderator Oleg Barabanov invited participants to discuss how Russian foreign policy with regards to Africa is developing and what tasks it sets for itself.

💬 Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head of the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, presented an overview of Russia’s interaction with the African continent. He noted that the political dialogue both with individual countries and with the African Union as a whole is developing intensively. Preparations are now underway for the first meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia and African countries in Sochi, scheduled for November. The trend towards African sovereignty continues to intensify. The continent is ready for a breakthrough.

💬 Mayya Nikolskaya, acting Director of the Centre for African Studies at MGIMO, who authored the Valdai Paper on Russian-Tanzanian economic interaction, spoke about the partnership between Russia and Tanzania. She emphasised that the topic of partnership “is close to the Tanzanian national spirit and the way Tanzanians see international politics.” Tanzania is one of those African countries that has been preoccupied with introducing its own vision of national development since decolonisation. It has a distinctive culture, supports autochthonous capital and, in principle, tends to rely on its own strengths and different trading partners.

💬 Daria Ilyenko, acting Head of the Russian House in Dar es Salaam, briefly outlined the activities of Rossotrudnichestvo in Tanzania and on the African continent as a whole. There are now eight state-owned Russian Houses in Africa, but Rossotrudnichestvo is also working to open non-state ones via local NGOs. The main tasks facing these centres are strengthening the role of the Russian language, supporting compatriots, and promoting Russian science, culture and education, which, according to Ilyenko, remains one of the main components of Russian influence in Africa. In particular, education is one of the main vectors of Russian-Tanzanian cooperation.

💬 Nourhan ElSheikh, Professor of Political Science at Cairo University and Member of the Egyptian Council on Foreign Affairs, called Russia a reliable partner of Africa and noted that now it makes sense to focus on economic cooperation. In this area, in her opinion, much has been achieved, but the level that would completely suit both Africa and Russia has not yet been achieved. It is necessary to increase trade volumes and implement ideas about trading in national currencies and developing systems of international payments and money transfers. An action plan with clear deadlines is probably needed.

💬 Mikatekiso Kubayi, a researcher at the UNISA Institute for Global Dialogue, South Africa, examined Russian-African relations in the context of the transition to a multipolar world and the development of a multilateral approach in which Africa and the countries of the Global South get a voice and the opportunity to advance their interests. Africa is not the most powerful region nor the richest; for a long time, much was imposed on it from the outside, in fact not even allowing it to the negotiating table, but now it is finally trying to insist on its own. Against this background, the continent, despite external pressure, has chosen Russia as its development partner.

https://valdaiclub.com/events/posts/articles/russia-and-africa-reliable-partners/

#AfricanValdai #Africa

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🇮🇷 The victory of the moderate reformer Masoud Pezeshkian in Iran’s early presidential elections came as a surprise to many, both in the Islamic Republic and abroad.

It cannot be ruled out that what happened was the result of a well-thought-out tactic by Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei, who, by allowing Pezeshkian to participate in the elections, wanted to increase voter turnout and to confirm the legitimacy of the Islamic system, and give reformist circles the opportunity to resume the negotiation process with the West on the Iranian nuclear programme, with the prospect of lifting or at least weakening Western sanctions.

The implementation of the multi-vector foreign policy course proclaimed by the new president, which provides for the restoration of ties with the West, the development of cooperation with Russia and China, and the establishment of good neighbourly relations with Arab states, will be strictly controlled by numerous conservative bodies and the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who has the final word on the most important issues of domestic and foreign policy.

We can assume that the new Iranian president and his pro-reform team will strive to pursue a more balanced foreign policy course; without highlighting any of its directions, it will advance where circumstances allow, without crossing the “red lines” outlined by Iran’s top leadership, Alexander Maryasov writes.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/presidential-elections-in-iran-the-impact/

#Return_of_Diplomacy #Iran #Pezeshkian

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📆 Today, July 24, 2024, the Valdai Discussion Club will hold its second Russian-African conference, titled “Russia – Africa: A strategy for cooperation in a multipolar world,” in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Valdai Club's partners in organising the conference are the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tanzania and the Russian House in Dar es Salaam.

🌍 Up to 40 experts from Russia and East African countries who are involved in the expert activities of the Valdai Club and, more broadly, in Russian-African cooperation will take part in the conference.

The Russia-Africa conference will be completely open to the media. The programme lasts one day and includes an opening and four thematic sessions.

During the sessions, experts will discuss the following topics:

• A year after the Russia-Africa summit: political dialogue between Russia and African countries at the present stage;
• Cooperation for development: economics and technology;
• Russian and African approaches to climate change;
• Shared values and cultural cooperation.

https://valdaiclub.com/events/own/the-2nd-african-conference-of-the-valdai-discussion-club/

#AfricanValdai

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🗣 Today, July 24, 2024, the opening of the second Russian-African conference of the Valdai Discussion Club “Russia – Africa: A strategy for cooperation in a multipolar world” took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Session 1, titled “The First Year after the Russia-Africa Summit: Political Dialogue of Russia and African States in Contemporary World,” followed the opening.

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#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfrica #Tanzania

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2️⃣ Session 2 of of the II Russian-African conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled “Cooperation for Development: Economy and Technology”.

📍July 24, 2024, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfrica #Tanzania

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3️⃣ Session 3 of of the II Russian-African conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled “Shared Values, Role of Media and Cultural Cooperation”.

📍July 24, 2024, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfrica #Tanzania

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4️⃣ The II Russian-African conference of the Valdai Discussion Club in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, was completed by Session 4, titled “Climate Change, Social Development and Migration. General Discussion”.

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#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfrica #Tanzania

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⚓️ The Middle Corridor, which is also called the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, is not a new idea. 

It is based on an agreement that the national railway companies of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia signed back in 2013. That said, the Middle Corridor only attracted a significant deal of interest after the start of Russia’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine in February 2022 and the subsequent imposition of ever-broader sanctions against Russia by the EU led European shippers to turn away from the Northern Corridor.

The Middle Corridor, a transport corridor meant to connect China to Europe via Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus, and the Black Sea, has received increasing attention and is often displayed as a main future thoroughfare and replacement for the Northern Corridor between China and Europe, which goes through Russia.

However, while efforts to develop the Middle Corridor are underway, there are also various questions; one uncertainty is to what extent Georgian Black Sea ports will be able to handle the increased cargo in a way that is economically viable.

Any successful development of the Middle Corridor will at best take years and at worst remain uncertain, Franz J. Marty writes.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/georgian-black-sea-ports-a-stimulus-or-stumbling/

#Multipolarity_and_Connectivity #transport #routs

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🗺️ In the context of deglobalisation, the relationships between space and time have become much more complex and interesting.

The decline of liberal globalism significantly expands our intellectual freedom, because previously Marxist historical determinism was simply replaced with the “end of history.”

Now we are able to consider time as being almost as heterogeneous as space, writes Vyacheslav Shuper, Doctor of Geography, Professor and Leading Researcher of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Associate Professor at Bernardo O'Higgins University, Santiago, Chile. 

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/globalisation-and-deglobalisation-impact/

#GlobalAlternatives #deglobalisation

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🇫🇷 Macronism suffered a complete defeat in the elections.

The National Rally succeeds only because it is perceived as a force of real opposition (which is increasingly not the case), and it had to win because it is the party that best represents the deep malaise that plagues the working class and other sections of the population.

Of course, the local electoral system prevented this victory, because the National Rally remains a party that lacks acceptance among the rest of the political system precisely because it represents popular forces, writes Olivier P. Roqueplo.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/defeat-for-the-winners-and-victory-for-the-losers-/

#GlobalAlternatives #France #Macron

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🌏 Speaking at the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 14, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed the key principles of the security architecture of Eurasia. The idea itself was voiced in the president’s message to the Federal Assembly on February 29. It is highly likely that it will become one of the supporting structures of the new Russian vision of security on the continent.

The principles revealed by the president indicate that Eurasian security will be understood comprehensively. It implies not only military-political issues, but also other areas.

First of all, we are talking about economics. Economic security issues were explicitly identified as a separate dimension and include a wide range of issues - from poverty and inequality to climate and the environment.

However, the further reference of the president’s speech to the policy of sanctions and the reliability of deposits in the debt obligations of Western states suggests that the key aspect of the economic dimension of Eurasian security architecture may be precisely the question of using the economy as a weapon; to protect against its use for political purposes.

The Eurasian economic security system can become a flexible and decentralised set of mechanisms that reduce “dependence on interdependence,” giving rise to a new reality of international economic relations, writes Ivan Timofeev, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/eurasia-s-security-system-the-economic-aspect/

#Multipolarity_and_Connectivity #Eurasia #security #economy

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🌎🌏 The 75th anniversary NATO summit in Washington, which took place on July 9-11, 2024, in addition to the issues it typically addresses, paid significant attention to the expansion of the bloc’s activities to the Asia-Pacific (now called the Indo-Pacific in the West), as well as strengthening cooperation with its partners in East Asia.

First of all, this applies to the well-known QUAD: Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Republic of Korea, whose leaders have become active participants in the NATO summit for the third time.

As we know, the decisions of this meeting, reflected in the “Declaration of the Washington Summit” adopted on July 10, 2024, are imbued with the spirit of increasing confrontation and deepen the dividing lines between this military alliance and those states that reject the hegemony of the West in the world.

The reaction of Moscow, Pyongyang and Beijing, voiced essentially in unison by states which are organisationally independent and despite the lack of any special coordination on their part, is not only not accidental, it is quite natural: it reflects a common or very similar vision of strategic threats and challenges to their own national security both in the East Asian region and in the world as a whole, Alexander Vorontsov writes.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/the-common-strategic-vision-the-reaction-of-russia/

#Multipolarity_and_Connectivity #NATO #WorldOrder

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🌍 African countries have long considered advanced information technology to be a key tool that can provide a new impetus to the development of their economies, making them more innovative.

Russia is ready to cooperate with African countries in all areas that involve their use.

At the same time, from our point of view, the most significant of these areas will be the following: information security, cloud technologies and artificial intelligence, Konstantin Pantserev writes.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/technological-cooperation-between-russia-and-africa/

#GlobalAlternatives #AfricanValdai #Africa #IT

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