RIAC Program Director Ivan Timofeev and RIAC expert Yan Vaslavsky took part in the international conference “Development of the Russian Far East and Search of a New Paradigm for International Cooperation in Northeast Asia” sponsored by the Consortium on International Cooperation in Northeast Asia and held in Seoul, South Korea, on the basis of Seoul National University.
RIAC Program Director Ivan Timofeev and RIAC expert Yan Vaslavsky took part in the international conference “Development of the Russian Far East and Search of a New Paradigm for International Cooperation in Northeast Asia” sponsored by the Consortium on International Cooperation in Northeast Asia and held in Seoul, South Korea, on the basis of Seoul National University.
Dr. Timofeev’s address was focused on prospects for modernization of Russia’s Far East: “Modernization of the Far East will be determined by infrastructure development, energy projects and improvement of Russia’s security potential. However, it is the advancement of legal and institutional environment for private business and foreign investments that seems to be of critical importance. Otherwise, the state is going to face the regional challenges all alone.”
Proceeding from his vast practical experience of organizing the APEC Business Summit in Vladivostok, Dr. Vaslavsky spoke on state programs for development of the Far East and their implementation: “In the historic perspective, Russia’s current attention to the Far East is unprecedented. The region’s potential is immense, also in the view of strengthening cooperation with the countries of Northeast Asia. Russia possesses the relevant material, human and managerial resources, while the heart of the matter is in their effective use and overall governance.”
Participants attached great importance to the denuclearization of North Korea, with Dr. Timofeev presenting RIAC working paper “Russia-Republic of Korea Relations: Revising the Bilateral Agenda” prepared by a team of RIAC experts lead by Ambassador Gleb Ivashentsov for President Putin’s visit to South Korea.
The conference followed up the two meetings of the Consortium on International Cooperation in Northeast Asia held in Moscow in 2011 and 2012 within the First and the Second Asia-Pacific Forums for preparation and summarization of Russia’s APEC presidency.
The conference was attended by distinguished Russian and international scholars in foreign affairs, among them Professor Yong-Chool Ha and Professor Beom Shik Shin (both Republic of Korea), Academician Pyotr Baklanov (Russia), Professor Donald Hellmann and Professor Vincent Gallucci (both the U.S.), Professor Haruki Wada (Japan), Professor Wang Fan (China), et al.
The next Consortium meeting is tentatively planned for the second half of 2104.
