Valdai Club

As Russia reconsiders itself as an Asian power, it has a unique role to play in the region, believes Samir Saran, President of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation. In an interview with valdaiclub.com he shared his view of the emerging Asia-centric world order and Russia’s place in it.

The emergence of China and India as key international players will make a shift in the international system towards multipolarity, believes Xiang Lanxin, Professor of the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. In an interview with valdaiclub.com on the margins of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok he outlined his vision of the world to come.

The Korean theme at the Eastern Economic Forum-2018 is the most notable. This is not accidental, because a moment of truth came for Russian policy towards the Korean Peninsula. It is time to choose whether we will actively pursue our line or adapt ourselves to the strategy and tactics of other countries, taking into account common geopolitical interests.

Lee Jae-Young, President of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), spoke about the prospects of trade relations between Russia, South Korea and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), as well as the importance of diversification policy in the face of increasing protectionism, in an interview with www.valdaiclub.com on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum-2018 in Vladivostok.

The artificial intelligence (AI) is designed to complement the human capabilities according to the “human + machine” formula. Means of AI like neural networks, machine learning, predictive analysis, and chatbots are successfully introduced and used all around the world by companies of various specializations. After all, even adaptive gearbox in a car has a kind of intelligence.

We are not heading East emptyhanded. We bring not only resources and transportation capacities, but also act as the major provider and guarantor of international security. More importantly, we have an opportunity to establish close cooperation with Asia without breaking off ties with Europe and to become the centre of the Greater Eurasian Partnership, which has been proposed by Moscow and backed by Beijing as being by 90 per cent in agreement with its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In a few years we will understand that we are no longer the eastern periphery slowly disappearing into the past, although close to most of Europe. Moving to Asia, to new wealth, strength and progress, we return home.

While the new Indo-Pacific construct continues to grab headlines, India's recent diplomatic orientation points to a renewed appreciation of what American strategist Zbigniew Brzezinski called the world’s “decisive geopolitical chessboard”: Eurasia. In order to grasp the significance of this strategic space, it is useful to compare it with the dynamics of the Indo-Pacific.