MEMO: The St. Petersburg Forum 2024 and strategic concepts

One of the most efficient ways of international projection is to hold large events.

Considering itself a sanctioned country under blockade by the West, the Russian government is forced to seek economic solutions that do not turn to the West, and even less subordinate itself to the tyranny of Washington and its control over the SWIFT system — operator of interbank exchanges through the Basel Accords.

In the face of sanctions and blockades, an Economic Forum that emerged at the height of globalization and the violation of sovereignty by the United States and its allies — in the 1990s — becomes in the current context a gateway to partnerships and allies in large economic ventures in Russia.

The 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2024) will be held from June 5 to 8, 2024.

The event, which was first held in 1997, has been organized since 2006 under the patronage and participation of the President of the Russian Federation.

In more than 25 years of history, SPIEF has managed to become the leading international platform for contact between representatives of the business community and a space for discussion of important economic issues for Russia, developing markets and the world at large.

Based on the 2023 results, the numbers from the past event are staggering.

There were 17,000 participants from 130 countries.

In terms of negotiations, 900 agreements were signed, with a total announced amount of 3,860,000 million rubles – in addition to amounts under contractual secrecy.

200 events were organized with the presence of 1,500 experts and speakers.

In total, the event totaled 100,000 square meters of business exhibition areas, bringing together the largest companies and authorities of the post-Soviet space and Eurasian integration.

The General Concept of Economic Development

It is interesting to observe the strategic concepts contained in the Economic Forum.

As if it were a macroeconomic equation, where the sum of the factors is greater than the parts, the composite elements point to a projection of power coming from the host.

The event is attended by all branches of the economy and the non-productive sphere.

These are: Financial and Insurance Services; Industry (manufacturing); Information Technology; Health; Education and Science; Consultancy; Trade; Telecommunications and Communications.

The specific business lines are: Construction; Logistics and Transportation; Real estate; Hospitality and tourism; Administration and Law; Agriculture and Forestry; Mining and Multisectoral Holdings.

The financial architecture to support talks and negotiation possibilities is formed by meetings with representatives of the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – founded in 2001 and a pioneer of Asian integration in the 21st century – the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The general concept of international insertion and the Eurasian and deglobalized space

On the other hand, the strategic concept in the dispute for power in the international system is even more explicit.

According to the Forum itself, that is, if it agrees with the projection and strength coming from the Kremlin under the regime commanded by Vladimir Putin, the goal is to generate full or partial adhesion of the partners in these multiple senses:

• Deglobalization: Reshaping the global economy, creating a trust economy, developing strong local economic centers;
• “Sovereignty is the privilege of the strong”: Issues of global, military, food, energy, financial, technological, digital and cultural sovereignty and their support with resources;
• National Conservation and the Labor Market: Social priorities in domestic politics, consolidation of public consciousness through the prism of traditional values, conditions for the full formation and development of personality;
• International cooperation, business dialogues: With the participation, in 2023, of representatives from Algeria, Brazil, India, China, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, the Eurasian Economic Commission(EAEU) – composed of Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan –, ASEAN – composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia –, as well as third countries in Latin America;
• “National health is the most important economic resource”: Drug safety issues, advanced scientific developments in medicine and pharmacy, physical culture, and sports.

If we look at the central trends of the 2023 forum, the Roscongress Foundation’s team of analysts pointed out the following alignments:

• The main macro change in 2023 for Russia is the formation of a new paradigm of international relations: “In the international system of relations, a trend has now clearly emerged towards the formation of a new configuration of economic and political centers at the global and regional levels. A fundamental role in this process can be played by interstate associations, in which progressive initiatives and projects are formed for the further development of economic relations, taking into account the voice of each participant. In 2023, there is a trend towards the development of projects related to macro-changes, including the formation of a new paradigm of international relations, in particular with regard to interaction with the BRICS countries — already added Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Iran —, the SCO — Central Asian cooperative structure, composed of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — and the EAEU,whose cooperation can provide significant support to the country’s economy. economy”.

Taking into account the concept exposed above, we searched for the correlations of the current edition of the forum.

In this year’s business program, the following panels stand out:

• The Northern Sea Route: Expanding Arctic Horizons;
• BRICS Expansion: New Opportunities for Business Cooperation;
• Strategic and scarce minerals: exploration, reproduction, utilization;
• EAEU Foreign Exchange CommodityMarket: Price Assessments as Drivers of Integration;
• Russian Economy: How to Ensure the Achievement of National Goals;
• Control (supervision): The moratorium cannot be lifted. Which way to go?
• Meeting of the Electric Power Council of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States);
• The Future of the Oil & Gas Market: Prospects for Global Demand and Producers’ Plans;
• Financing the transition: Opportunities for energy transition in the BRICS;
• Development of cooperation in the diamond industry among the BRICS countries;
• Russian Automotive Industry: A Second Birth in the Modern World.

The Forum and Latin America

At the time of writing, there was only one Latin American official confirmed at the event.

Bolivian President Luis Arce will attend the plenary session, as well as other world leaders.

After Venezuela and Cuba, Bolivia is the largest destination for investments and techno-scientific cooperation agreements in Latin America, especially through the joint venture formed by the state-owned lithium mineral company Yacimientos de Lithium Boliviano (YLB) and the Chinese consortium Xinjiang Tbea Group and Boacheng.

The Russian presence enters at some point in this value chain, and also with the development of nuclear medicine technology.

Bolivia’s goal is clear: to expand the cycle of strategic minerals through agreements with Eurasian and Asian capitals that can increase investment in the country.

If this occurs, the model is ratified and the space for exploration of the United States in our continent will definitely be shortened.

If experiences such as the Bolivian one is multiplied through events such as the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, it will be an evident reinforcement for mineral exporting countries to seek ways beyond the mere sale of primary commodities.

Any advance in international trade without the use of the dollar as the world’s currency is significant and the event analyzed here contributes in this sense.

The original article here.