🎥 Biden's decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan was a great one. The biggest challenge of statesmanship is to change the course of national foreign policy, and that's exactly what Joe Biden did, Timofei Bordachev, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club, told RT.

Watch the Worlds Apart program on YouTube ⬇️

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gT0Y5JQeZc

🇮🇷🇦🇫 Tehran has not yet worked out a solution and cannot answer the main question for itself: is it worth recognising the Taliban at all?

The capture of Kabul and the establishment of Taliban power over virtually the entire territory of Afghanistan have added another batch of headaches to Iran’s problems.

While Iran has officially welcomed the withdrawal of the Americans from its neighbour to the east, in reality, not everyone in Iran is delighted with the current situation, since they do not fully understand how to interact with the Taliban in Kabul and what, in principle, Iranian-Afghan relations will be like in the medium term, writes Valdai Club expert Farhad Ibrahimov.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/iran-s-policy-toward-the-taliban/

#Morality_and_Law #Taliban #Iran #Afghanistan

@valdai_club

⛔️🇦🇫 Restrictive measures applied to the Taliban by the United States, the European Union now affect the country as a whole.

Any economic transactions with the country ruled by the Taliban are subject to a variety of restrictive measures. Such a situation could criminalise and simply paralyse official economic ties with Afghanistan.

The humanitarian damage to the population of the country, coupled with the hardships of the war, could be colossal, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Ivan Timofeev.

#Afghanistan #sanctions

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/afghanistan-in-the-grip-of-sanctions/

💸 During the first global financial crisis since 2008, sovereign wealth funds were not only at the front of the fiscal response but also actively investing in their countries’ economies.

For governments with a stabilisation or a savings fund with liquidity, the immediate action was to draw down on the fund or to access international debt markets.

The main difference to the Global Financial Crisis is that sovereign funds have mainly invested domestically across all sectors, as opposed to overseas investments in financial services in 2008-9, writes Enrico Soddu, Head of Data & Analytics, International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.

#Corporations_and_Economy

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/the-role-of-sovereign-wealth-funds-in-the-pandemic/

🇺🇸🇷🇺 We can say that Russian-American relations have reached a plateau and will not be subject to sharp fluctuations within the next year, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Andrey Sushentsov.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/not-wavering-anymore-relations-between-russia-and-/

@valdai_club

🇷🇺📆🇺🇿 ANNOUNCEMENT: On September 20, 2021, Tashkent will host a conference of the Valdai Discussion Club and the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, titled “Russia and Uzbekistan in the Face of Development and Security Challenges at a New Historical Stage of Interaction”.

The Club traditionally invites the relevant authorities to participate in conferences. This time, the participants of the event include Andrei Rudenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, as well as Farhod Arziev, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Among the leading speakers are two members of the Parliament of Uzbekistan — Akmal Saidov, First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Sodyq Safayev, First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The change of power in Afghanistan and the destabilisation of the nation create new challenges for Russia and Central Asia. The conference in Tashkent is the first expert meeting of the leading think tanks of Russia and Central Asia since the fall of the pro-American government in Kabul. Both journalists and a wide audience will be able to hear first-hand the most authoritative assessments of Russian and Uzbek experts on the situation in Afghanistan.

❓The conference will consist of an opening session, three special sessions and a closing session, addressing the following issues:

• Reforms and Development in Central Asia: Approaches of Russia and Uzbekistan. Humanitarian aspects of bilateral interaction
• Regional security: External and internal factors
• International trade and integration in Central Eurasia

💡 The opening of the conference, the first session, as well as the closing session will be open to the media and will be broadcast on the Club’s website.

🚩 Within the framework of the conference, the Valdai Club will present a new report titled “Eurasia’s Iron Frame: Achievements, Problems and Prospects for Continental Connectivity”, dedicated to transport and logistics issues in Eurasia, with an emphasis on the development of railway transit. At the end of 2021, the Valdai Club plans to release a report on Russian policy towards the post-Soviet space over the past 30 years. The conference in Tashkent will serve as one of the most important intellectual venues.

👥 More than 30 experts from Russia and Uzbekistan will take part in the event. From the Uzbek side, the discussions will be attended by: Ismatulla Irgashev, Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan; Eldor Aripov, Director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Sanzhar Valiev, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Nodir Zhumaev, professor, deputy of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Anvar Nasyrov, director of the International Institute for Central Asia and many others. From the Russian side, the conference will be attended by: Alexander Vysotsky, Head of Government Affairs, Yandex Go& Market; Anton Kozlov, Head of Foreign Projects and International Cooperation Department, Russian Railways; Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman of the Board of the Valdai Discussion Club; Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director of the Valdai Discussion Club; Timofei Bordachev, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club and others.

Working languages: Russian, Uzbek.

ℹ️ Information for the media: To get accredited for the event, fill out the form on our website or call +79269307763. Accreditation is open until 18:00 p.m. Moscow time till September 16.

A link to the live broadcast of open sessions will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, on Facebook, Vkontakte, Telegram and Twitter.

🪙🌐 The multiplicity of country models of dealing with the pandemic, the “vaccine competition”, the breaking up of global value chains and their nationalization and regionalization all point in the direction of greater localization and self-sufficiency. At the same time there is a need from greater synchronicity across countries particularly in the context of the current pandemic crisis, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Yaroslav Lissovolik.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/synchronicity-in-economic-policy-the-pandemic/

@valdai_club — The Valdai Discussion Club

🦠 If we draw an analogy between the mutations of the coronavirus and the mutations of the influenza virus, then from a purely logical point of view it will be necessary to say that the world is waiting for a chronic pandemic of the coronavirus, that this pandemic will always exist.

It will erupt and fade, just like flu epidemics, but it will always be.

At least until the moment when some new virus replaces Covid-19, as Covid itself has practically pushed the influenza virus out of the global population.

And if there is always an epidemic, then it is clear that introducing lockdowns forever, with each new outbreak happening 2-3 times a year, is by no means an option. Therefore, humanity must learn to live with this chronic pandemic, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Oleg Barabanov.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/chronic-pandemic-or-how-to-deal-with-prtognoses/

#Morality_and_Law #pandemic #Covid19

@valdai_club — The Valdai Discussion Club

📆 ANNOUNCEMENT: On September 17 at 12:00 Moscow time (GMT+3), the Valdai Club will hold a discussion in partnership with the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation @orftg, titled “Afghanistan under Taliban rule: A view from Russia and India”.

The speedy withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the fall of the Afghan government and the rapid victory of the Taliban (banned in Russia) have posed a number of problems for the states of the region and external powers, including Russia and India. Among these issues are the choice of the paradigm of official relations with Afghanistan, the risks of “instability export” outside the country, the prospect of revising the UN Security Council resolutions on the Taliban, and other problems. 

For Russia, the security risks in the Central Asian region are rather relevant, including the security of its CSTO allies and CIS partners. India has done a lot for the humanitarian development of Afghanistan. Threats of the “export” of terrorist activity and control of security risks are also important for New Delhi. For both countries, questions about the strategies of third countries – China, the United States, the main EU and NATO countries - remain open. 

❓How do Russia and India see the development of the situation in Afghanistan?
❓What are the prospects for cooperation with the new regime in the context of the existing UN Security Council sanctions and unilateral sanctions of a number of states?
❓What are the key security challenges for Moscow and New Delhi in connection with Afghanistan?

These and other questions will be answered by the participants in the expert discussion. 

🎙 Speakers:

🇮🇳 Shanti Mariet D'Souza, Founding Professor, Kautilya School of Public Policy

🇷🇺 Andrey Kazantsev, Director of the Analytical Centre of Institute of International Studies, MGIMO University, Professor at the Higher School of Economics

🇺🇸 Anatol Lieven, Senior Research Fellow, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

🇮🇳 Jyoti Malhotra, Senior Consulting Editor, The Print

🇷🇺 Ivan Safranchuk, Director, Senior Research Fellow, Centre of Euro-Asian Studies, IIS MGIMO University

🇮🇳 P.S. Raghavan, Former Indian Ambassador to Russia and Former Head, National Security Advisory Board (India)

Moderator:

🚩 Ivan Timofeev, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club

Working languages: Russian, English. 

ℹ️ Information for the media: To get accredited for the event, fill out the form on our website or call +79269307763.

A link to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, on Facebook, Vkontakte, Telegram and Twitter. 

https://valdaiclub.com/events/announcements/valdai-club-and-orf-to-discuss-afghanistan-under-taliban-rule/

@valdai_club — The Valdai Discussion Club

🇦🇫 What are the consequences of the emergence of the Taliban regime in the international arena?

At the first stage, the Taliban* will strengthen their power within the country. Any attempt to expand outside could cost them dearly, since it will cause a negative reaction from all neighbouring states. It will also deprive the Taliban of any chance at international recognition or foreign aid. Therefore, they can do this only in two cases: if the regime is on the verge of collapse and it needs an external enemy to rally the population around itself, or vice versa - the regime feels so sure that it embarks on a path of external expansion. Neither of these options is likely in the foreseeable future, writes Konstantin Khudoley, professor at the Faculty of International Relations at St. Petersburg State University.

The Taliban's success will provide an important boost to other radical and extremist movements in the Muslim world.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/is-the-afghanistan-problem-really-global/

#Global_Governance #Taliban #Afghanistan

*banned in Russia

@valdai_club — The Valdai Discussion Club

📌 Programme of the Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club and the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “Russia and Uzbekistan in the Face of Development and Security Challenges at a New Historical Stage of Interaction”

📍Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan

💡 The opening of the conference, the first session, as well as the closing session will be open to the media and will be broadcast on the Club’s website.

📆 September 20, Monday / Attention! The time in the programme is local.

10:00 – 10:40 (8:00–8:40 Moscow time) — Conference opening (live broadcast)

11:00 – 13:00 (9:00–11:00 Moscow time) — Session 1. Reforms and Development in Central Asia: Approaches of Russia and Uzbekistan. Humanitarian aspects of bilateral interaction (live broadcast)

Russia and Uzbekistan are united by cultural, historical and human closeness, based on a long-enduring common humanitarian space. While preserving an important legacy, we should look for new approaches that take into account the formation and strengthening of sovereign states.

14:00 – 16:00 — Session 2. Regional security: External and internal factors

The completion of the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, where they have been for twenty years, creates new security challenges for Central Asia. The risks are aggravated by general uncertainty about the future course of events in that country. Russia will not remain aloof from this problem, since it shares with the countries of Central Asia one of the longest land borders in the world, interacts widely with them on trade and labour market issues, and provides guarantees to protect the region from external threats. Uzbekistan acts as a system-forming element of regional security, having a well-equipped and modernised armed forces capable of conducting modern operations.

16:30 – 18:00 — Session 3. International trade and integration in Central Eurasia

The subject of discussion should be the prospects and options for the integration of Uzbekistan into international trade and cooperation relations in Eurasia, as well as interaction with the EAEU and other regional and extra-regional associations. At the same time, the changing global and regional situation does not allow the Eurasian Economic Union to remain unchanged — the EAEU must quickly respond to circumstances and flexibly adapt not only work formats, but also its own goals and objectives.

18:00 – 18:30 (16:00–16:30 Moscow time) — Closing of the conference (live broadcast)

https://valdaiclub.com/events/posts/articles/programme-of-the-conference-of-the-valdai-club-uzbekistan/

@valdai_club — The Valdai Discussion Club

🌏 The events in Afghanistan challenged the countries of Asia.

First of all, because they were largely on their own. Their responsibility, including globally, has grown dramatically. Now a very difficult and responsible period, the independent construction of a new Asian order, lies ahead.

The aforementioned rapid development of the region is an indisputable fact. Any development contains many risks and requires skilful manoeuvring in economic, political, social and other waters.

In recent years, Asian countries have advanced in this regard. The largest Asian countries are trying to create a kind of control grid for themselves and for other countries in the region. In general, there is a striving for coordinated development. Nevertheless, the path to a harmonious future Asia is definitely longer and more difficult, writes Valdai Club Chairman Andrey Bystritskiy.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/chairman-speech/contemporary-history/

📆 This and other issues we will discuss on September 20, 2021, in Tashkent, within the framework of the conference, titled “Russia and Uzbekistan in the Face of Development and Security Challenges at a New Historical Stage of Interaction”.

#Afghanistan #Uzbekistan #CentralAsia

@valdai_club — The Valdai Discussion Club

🌍 Why are the GCC countries trying to go green?

It is worth noting that the GCC countries’ economic visions all emphasize sustainability of economic development policies. This is because independently of any environmental concerns, the GCC economies have historically been dependent upon finite and depleting resources in the form of oil and gas, and so they were looking to establish a new development model that would not expire.

In fact, part of the drive toward renewable energies in the GCC has been a desire to decrease the rate at which they deplete their hydrocarbons, as burning domestically produced oil or natural gas has been the primary source of electricity in the GCC.

Switching to solar or wind energy offers the governments the option of either securing greater revenues by exporting more of their oil and gas, or simply slowing down the extraction rate so that future generations can enjoy a larger share of the fruits, writes Omar Al-Ubaydli, Economist at George Mason University, USA.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/why-are-the-gcc-countries-trying-to-go-green/

#Corporations_and_Economy #ecology #GCC

@valdai_club — The Valdai Discussion Club

❌🌎 What the West does not understand is that NATO is facing a historic end after the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Even if the West does not want to admit it, the terrorists responsible for the attacks of 9/11 exactly twenty years ago inflicted a historic defeat on the West and drove NATO out of the Middle East.

The aim of Bin Laden's diabolical plan was to lure the US into the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan in order to defeat it there in the gruelling petty war. The West is footing the bill for its mindless policies.

Instead of promoting democracy in the region, NATO has left behind a field of devastation. Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan have become failed states. Worse still, instead of Arab nationalism, the "Islamic State" will be resurrected on the territories of these countries – ideologically and militarily directed against the West. And much stronger than in Iraq at the time.

Who needs a highly armed military alliance that has been defeated by local Islamists?

The real lessons of 9/11 have yet to be learned, writes Alexander Rahr, Research Director of the German-Russian Forum.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/9-11-and-the-defeat-of-the-west/

#Conflict_and_Leadership #NATO #Afghanistan

@valdai_club — The Valdai Discussion Club

💉🌐 The vaccination campaign is progressing unevenly around the world.

In higher-income countries, about 60 percent of the population had received at least one dose of the vaccine by August 2021. In poor countries, meanwhile, vaccination coverage was only one percent.

We created an infographic on achievements and challenges of the global COVID-19 vaccination.

🔗 The full high-res infographic is available on our website.

#vaccine #vaccination #COVID10

@valdai_club — The Valdai Discussion Club

🇨🇦 On August 15, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Liberal Party, announced an early parliamentary election and scheduled it for September 20, 2021.

At the centre of the Liberals’ election campaign is the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic in Canada and the economic recovery.

In his statement, Justin Trudeau emphasised that “Canadians need to choose how we finish the fight against COVID-19 and build back better. Canadians deserve their say, and that’s exactly what we are going to give them.” Thus, the main declared goal of the Liberals is to get a vote of confidence from the public for the continuation of the measures taken by the government.

The goal, which the prime minister did not voice, is the desire of the Liberal Party to win an absolute majority in the Parliament. 

Liberal analysts are concerned that the registration process to submit ballots by mail could stop their supporters from voting, thereby undermining Trudeau’s drive to reclaim a majority government, writes Natalya Vyakhireva, Expert and Program Manager of the Russian International Affairs Council.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/early-elections-in-canada/

#Canada #elections #Trudeau

@valdai_club — The Valdai Discussion Club

⏰ TODAY at 12:00 Moscow time (GMT+3), the Valdai Club will hold a discussion in partnership with the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) @orftg, titled “Afghanistan under Taliban rule: A view from Russia and India”.

❓How do Russia and India see the development of the situation in Afghanistan?
❓What are the prospects for cooperation with the new regime in the context of the existing UN Security Council sanctions and unilateral sanctions of a number of states?
❓What are the key security challenges for Moscow and New Delhi in connection with Afghanistan?

These and other questions will be answered by the participants in the expert discussion. 

https://valdaiclub.com/multimedia/video/afghanistan-under-taliban-rule-a-view-from-russia-and-india-an-expert-discussion/

📷 © Sputnik/Mikhail Alaeddin

@valdai_club — The Valdai Discussion Club