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28 – 29 сентября 2023 года

3rd International Expert Forum “Russia – Middle East”

 
On September 28-29, the 3rd International Expert Forum “Russia – Middle East” took place in Saint Petersburg. The event was organized by the Evgeniy Primakov Center for International Cooperation in collaboration with the Institute of Oriental Studies RAS. Leading experts, diplomats and politicians from Russia, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Oman, Tunisia, Turkey and Syria took part in the Forum.

The Forum was officially opened with welcome speeches by Dr. Vasily Kuznetsov, PhD in History, Deputy Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies, head of the Center of Arab and Islamic Studies, and Dr. Victoria Karslieva, Executive Director of the Evgeniy Primakov Center for International Cooperation.

“Forming objective views and comprehensive approaches, influencing the public opinion – these are the principal tasks for the expert community today. High-quality expertise allows us to encourage relations on state level, build trust-based dialogue, establish mutually beneficial cooperation and move towards a fairer world order” – Dr. Karslieva pointed out.

According to Dr. Kuznetsov, the Middle Eastern countries currently need new political models that can facilitate the region’s development. He emphasized the issue of civilizational approach in the international politics:

“Civilizational approach is no more a theoretical abstraction; rather, it has become a practical guide for political decision-making. It had been proposed by S. Huntington 30 years ago, however, it was not initially accepted. Now, we see that Russia, China and India use the civilizational approach as a counterbalance for Western visions”

The first day of the forum included two sessions. The first one was dedicated to the Middle East and North Africa under global recession and emergence of a new economic order. During the discussion, the experts looked into aspects of economic cooperation, evolution of regional and international relations, diversification of geopolitical vectors and retrospective approach to the directions of further development.

The aspects of non-proliferation in the Middle East became the main focus of the second session. According to the experts that took part in it, it is essential to emphasize the motivation that drives the Middle Eastern countries to create various types of mass destruction weapons. Moreover, the prospects of the countries’ accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and Chemical Weapons Convention were discussed.

On the second day, the experts discussed non-military aspects of security in the region, resolution of the Yemeni conflict, prospects of Iraq’s political development, strengthening of the Russian-Algerian strategic partnership and specific features of the Russian-Iranian relations.

Within the Forum’s framework, a cultural program was also held. The participants met Mikhail Piotrovsky, the Director of Hermitage Museum. He told them about the Hermitage’s collection of Islamic art masterpieces and its role in cultural diplomacy in the Middle East. Moreover, the experts were invited to a guided tour around the Museum.

Источник: Evgeniy Primakov Center for International Cooperation