Primakov Readings – 2024. Day 1

«Primakov Readings–2024».
Highlights of the first day
of the International Forum

Over the 10 years, the "Primakov Readings" have grown stronger and rightfully earned the reputation of one of the most creative and open forums where pressing international issues are discussed. They have become a kind of memorial to Yevgeny Primakov, a tribute of respect and memory to this public figure and diplomat.

This year, the academician would have turned 95. In his speech in 2016, Vladimir Putin called Yevgeny Primakov a great citizen of our country. I was fortunate to know Primakov closely - for me, he was a true mentor, teacher, and symbol of human decency and honesty.

Yury Ushakov

Aide to the President of the Russian Federation, Head of the Primakov Readings Organizing Committee

It seemed that the inter-bloc confrontation had ended, but the players in world politics invested different meanings in it. We believed that the blocs were disappearing, while the other side thought that the confrontation was going away.

Among the possible principles of the future world order are: the absence of common ideologies and values that are unsuitable for the countries of the world majority, as well as strict discipline; freedom for participating countries to express their own point of view; and a ban on the use of sanctions, except for those adopted by the UN Security Council.

Konstantin Kosachev

Deputy Chairman of the Council of Federation
of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation

The main surprise was the fantastic resilience of the Russian economy. I will take the liberty of asserting that today no economy in the world, not even the Chinese one, would withstand such aggressive pressure. The high resistance of the Russian economy to external shocks can be explained by three fundamental reasons: firstly, it is the result of difficult institutional and structural reforms. Today we have a self-sufficient, adaptive and highly diversified market economy. Secondly, the crisis of 2022 was already the fifth in the history of new Russia. Finally, thirdly: the West miscalculated in its ability to isolate our economy. The dual containment of Russia and China strengthens ties between countries and strengthens BRICS.

Alexander Dynkin

President of Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Member of IMEMO

Panel Discussion 1. Evgeny Primakov’s Ideas for the 21th century (on the occasion of the Evgeny Primakov’s 95th anniversary)

The 10th Primakov Readings Forum, the 95th anniversary of the birth of Evgeny Primakov, is a natural occasion to recall the ideas of this "great citizen of Russia", as Vladimir Putin called him, addressing our second Forum in 2016. Primakov Readings, initiated by the President of Russia as a tribute to the memory of the outstanding statesman, diplomat and scholar Evgeny Primakov, over the past 10 years has become Russia’s flagship platform for meaningful, professional discussion of the most pressing international issues. The next year after its launch, Primakov Readings became one of the top 10 most important world conferences according to the Think Tank and Civil Societies Program rating. A talented man and a bright thinker, Evgeny Primakov left a rich legacy in a wide range of fields: state building, science, foreign policy,economics, and journalism.

In addition to being a well-known statesman, head of government, academician, and a major researcher, Yevgeny Maksimovich was also a very interesting and distinctive figure in education.

Unlike many people in education and science, Yevgeny Maksimovich always maintained a polyphony, a multi-vector nature of career track interests.

Self-education played a huge role in the development of Yevgeny Maksimovich. For instance, professors of Arabic studies recalled that Primakov performed much better in exams than in ongoing classes.

The ability to concentrate and be fully prepared for an important deadline was indeed Primakov's skill. Obviously, this is due to his talent - the talent to master and manage the word.The first important educational experience was implemented by Primakov at MGIMO in 1993. A very specific but stable educational project appeared: the course 'Intelligence in the Modern World.' The course was immensely popular.

Anatoly Torkunov

Rector of MGIMO, Academician
of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Svetlana Sharenkova

Chairman, Bulgaria-Russia Forum

Yevgeny Primakov left a rich theoretical legacy. His scientific works not only had predictive power but also represented a strategic view of the modern world. His predictions come true quickly because he was one of the few who was able to stay ahead of time and shape the future.

Yevgeny Maksimovich formulated the ideas of a multipolar world. He firmly believed that unilateral hegemony does not have a solid foundation, does not create balance and order, but generates crises and conflicts.

Yevgeny Primakov convinced both his own people and others that when solving global problems, one should never ignore Russia. First of all, because of its spiritual strength, historical experience, and its conciliarity. Everything else is a serious political shortsightedness.

A few months before Yevgeny Maksimovich left us, he made a strong message for the future: Russia today is strong enough to stop being an appendage of the West. He urged Russia and the West to follow the path of compromise for the sake of confronting common challenges.

Session 2. BRICS: Towards a New World Architecture

Today, the BRICS is a systemically important association of like-minded organizations that are building the foundation for a new, more just and equitable world order united by the common principles of spiritual and moral humanism, mutual respect, sovereign equality and civilizational diversity. Despite incessant attempts to discredit it, BRICS has not only flourished, offering new meaningful cooperation projects, but has also gained more weight and authority among the world’s majority countries, doubling its membership and becoming a factor of attraction for more than two dozen countries.

Representatives of Russia have repeatedly talked about the establishment of BRICS Bridge — a digital payment infrastructure. To do this, countries should agree on creating a system that all players will accept and that would include mechanisms for protecting consumer rights and resolving disputes.

Some BRICS member states, such as China, are developing their digital currencies. This process needs to be integrated into a single neutral exchange space. Banks and financial institutions of member countries should encourage cross-border settlement.

The technological infrastructure of the association must be equipped with mechanisms for protecting communications and countering cyberattacks.

Zhang Yuyan

Director, Institute of World Economy
and Politics (IWEP), Chinese Academy
of Social Science (CASS)

Ramzy Ezzeldine Ramzy

Ambassador of Egypt (Ret.), former ambassador of Egypt to Germany, Austria, Brazil, former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations

The member countries of the bloc account for 46% of the world's population and 25% of global trade. BRICS is surpassing the G7 in terms of its share in the global economy and is becoming a full-fledged counterweight to this group.

The group has proven its viability: its members have learned to find common ground, which allows the bloc to expand. It needs to consolidate and create new institutions.

The key feature of the current period is the intensification of rivalry between great powers. This trend is reflected in the national security documents of China, Russia, and the United States. BRICS can make this competition more manageable.

Three African countries have joined the association. The continent can become the space where BRICS shows the world, and the Global South in particular, that it is capable of creating a more equitable world order.

Speech by the Deputy Prime Minister
of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk

It is critically important to go out and create a large market around us. We must stimulate the growth of our economy not only through domestic consumption but also through exports

For us, integration is primarily about forming an economic basis for the independent and sustainable development of Russia and its closest neighbours, preserving and developing a common cultural and civilizational space, strengthening security by creating a secure perimeter, and forming a geospatial foundation for entering the markets of the Global South. Ultimately, the combination of all these factors will lead to the formation of a single Eurasian macro-region

We are talking about multi-contour integration, which allows us to take into account to a large extent the different levels and willingness of the states participating in the integration processes to transfer part of their sovereign powers to a supranational level

Panel Discussion 3. Greater Eurasia Interaction Vectors

Increased competition and even manifestations of confrontation between the leading centers of power are becoming "the new normal" in a changing world. The United States and Western countries promote narratives at a global level that certain revisionists from Eurasia cause risks (to common rules, security, welfare, development). In fact, the region of Greater Eurasia has the potential to become the assembly point of a new global political and economic order. Much depends on the willingness of the Eurasian countries to ensure security and create rules (rather than simply adapting to the regimes and standards proposed by Western countries) and to strive for optimal, equal conditions for cooperation between partners that expand the range of development opportunities in the region.

The SCO and the EAEU could become an integral part of the greater Eurasian space, while China, India, the countries of the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia could become investors in the economies of our countries.

Successful integration associations work as a magnet and a centripetal force. Today, cooperation should become multilateral: this will make it more resilient to external influences.

The formats of cooperation that provide the countries of Eurasia with real sovereignty are promising. Within the EAEU framework, this means strengthening existing economic ties and creating new trade routes, reducing barriers to the movement of goods and services, and within the Belt and Road Initiative, there is a need to develop infrastructure for more efficient trade.

Zarema Shaukenova

Vice-president, National Academy
of Sciences of the Republic
of Kazakhstan

Akramjon Nematov

First Deputy Director, Institute
for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic
of Uzbekistan

For us, maintaining stability, security, and sustainable development in the Eurasian space is an imperative of our foreign policy.

In my opinion, the key to overcoming the challenges we face today is ensuring the stability and sustainability of Eurasia.

Uzbekistan advocates on Eurasian platforms for the launch of a new economic dialogue, the goal of which is the formation of a common economic space in the Eurasian space, so that we can independently ensure our economic sovereignty. In this context, Uzbekistan primarily advocates for the development of industrial cooperation.

We should pay great attention to our self-sufficiency and internal resilience to be able to withstand the external challenges we face.

Panel Discussion 4. Polycentric Nuclear Order:
Risks Uncontrolled

In recent years, there has been an increase in the risks associated with the possible collapse of nuclear arms control regimes and the emergence of preconditions for the disruption of strategic stability. The polycentric nature of the emerging world order has become more and more clearly manifested in the military-strategic sphere. The world has entered a new round of the nuclear arms race. The United States is striving to ensure that their nuclear arsenal will be capable of simultaneously deterring both Russia and China in the coming years. Russian nuclear forces have undergone significant modernization and face the need to deter NATO’s combined nuclear capabilities. China is slowly but surely building up its nuclear capabilities in an effort to close the gap with the leaders. Other nuclear powers are seeking to improve the survivability and range of their nuclear forces. At the same time, there is fewer and fewer preconditions for bilateral and multilateral dialogue in the field of arms control.

Arms control is a product of a certain equilibrium, not only military-strategic but also international-political. Today, the world has entered a phase of serious international turbulence. We are very far from equilibrium.

Dialogue between the United States and Russia is unlikely under current conditions. As practice shows, dialogue between the United States and China is unproductive. This situation will persist in the context of acute confrontation between Russia and the United States and the intensifying confrontation between the United States and China for a long time to come.

Nuclear deterrence must be strengthened and become real nuclear intimidation.In relations with allies and partners, it is necessary to create a real basis for a Eurasian security system, currently without Western Eurasia.

Dialogue is needed between the four nuclear powers that are members of the SCO on issues such as the concept of nuclear deterrence, strategic stability and confidence-building measures. It is necessary to develop our own conceptual models.

Dmitry Trenin

Research Director, Institute of World Military Economy and Strategy,
HSE University

Feodor Voitolovsky

Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor
of Sciences (Politics), Director of IMEMO

There are emerging technological factors that will seriously influence the development of nuclear powers and act as incentives for the military-economic and military-technological race.

In the context of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, where Ukraine is actually being used as a proxy for confrontation with Russia and to inflict, as they say in the West, a strategic defeat on it, dialogue on arms control is impossible.

Until China reaches a number of warheads and delivery vehicles comparable to the current potentials of Russia and the United States, or reaches a certain balance logic in medium-range assets, it has no serious motives to enter into a negotiation process and make restrictions.

Direct military confrontation is deterred primarily by the nuclear factor.