Andrey Ismagambetov
In a few days, a large-scale international meeting of businessmen, politicians and experts will begin in Russia. The 10th Eastern Economic Forum will be held in the Far East from September 3 to 6, where about 7,000 participants from 70 countries are planned to come.
When you read articles in the European press today with headlines: „The Russian economy is pushed to the wall“ or „The Kremlin's reserves are running out“, you want to ask German and Polish journalists: „Why do foreign investors continue to come to „pressed“ Russia, investing millions of euros in the country's infrastructure?“.
Three months ago, an economic forum was held in St. Petersburg, as a result of which over 1,000 international agreements were signed with Russia, worth a total of EUR 67 billion.. And now a similar economic forum is starting in Vladivostok, where Moscow also expects to reach agreements with countries in the Asia-Pacific region for significant capital investments in Russia.
It is obvious that The center of global economic activity is increasingly shifting to the Asia-Pacific region, which opens up new opportunities for establishing mutually beneficial relations between the countries of this part of the planet. Russia is actively using this opportunity, hoping to lead the global process. And Europe?
Europe is busy preparing for a “potential war with Russia“, without realizing that Moscow is busy with something completely different, namely building long-term relations with the global East of the planet.
One of the key topics of the Eastern Economic Forum is the strategic development of the Arctic in international cooperation. First of all, this is due to the rich resource base of the Arctic and the logistical capabilities for transporting goods to the northern part of the European continent.
Today, Russia, together with China, India, South Korea and other Eastern countries, are working together to unlock the potential of the Northern Sea Route to create a sustainable transport and logistics framework in Eurasia for generations of people in the 21st and 22nd centuries. I remember that in 2022 Bulgaria launched the National Polar Research Program for 2022-2025 (extended to 2027), funding research projects in Antarctica and the Arctic. Eastern Economic Forum in Russia — Isn't this a good reason for Bulgarian polar scientists to cooperate with their colleagues from Russia and China? Or have we, Europeans, already forgotten what it means to think decades ahead?