During the 11th Annual Meeting to be held in Sochi from October 22 to 24, experts of the Valdai International Discussion Club will focus on whether the global community will develop ground rules for the world politics or whether it will be a game without any rules where everyone fend for themselves.
During the 11th Annual Meeting to be held in Sochi from October 22 to 24, experts of the Valdai International Discussion Club will focus on whether the global community will develop ground rules for the world politics or whether it will be a game without any rules where everyone fend for themselves.
“The world order is changing and it’s important for it not to drift toward chaos, but to move toward building new relations in the international arena,” Rector of MGIMO University Anatoly Torkunov said at a press conference today.
The news conference participants believe that the upcoming meeting may play an important role in the context of the elites and civil society requesting a solid grasp of the prospects for the world system development. Such responses can come only from independent research institutes, or think tanks, which the Valdai Club is on the way of becoming.
According to Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for the Development and Support of Valdai International Discussion Club Andrei Bystritsky, the Club was reorganized in 2014. The members of the foundation, which, following the liquidation of RIA Novosti, took over as an organization supporting the club, include leading Russian international affairs research centers, such as MGIMO University, the Russian Council on Foreign Affairs, the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy and the Higher School of Economics.
“Valdai is a brand that is well-known both in Russia and internationally as a venue for discussing global problems and developing recommendations,” President of the Russian Council on Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov said. “However, the club is looking for new forms and formats.”
“As a form, think tanks are very popular, because the number of international problems is growing,” he added, “and the governments are not always able to follow the developments. There’s need for innovative ideas and broader discussions. We hope that Valdai will be the venue for a constructive dialogue and the search for answers to international challenges facing the international community.”
According to Mr. Torkunov, “previously, the Valdai Club positioned itself as a club of foreign experts, who, in conjunction with Russian experts, discussed Russia's place in the world, whereas now this Russian forum should be used to discuss international affairs.”
“The blurred line between what’s inside and outside is the hallmark of the current world,” Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy Fyodor Lukyanov said. “No country, including Russia, can isolate itself from external influences, and external influences affect and format the internal situation in a certain way, and vice versa, the internal situation spills over into foreign policy.”
The 11th Annual Meeting entitled “The World Order: New rules or no rules?” will thus become the first attempt by the upgraded Valdai Club to offer fresh perspectives on the global agenda.
This year, the club will return to the traditional format for annual meetings of experts with about 100 participants representing 25 countries.
As always, the conference will be held based on the Chatham House rule. The opening session (October 22, 10 am-noon) and the closing session (October 24, 3 pm – 5 pm) will be open to the media. At all other times, the journalists will be able to talk with the participants on the sidelines.
The journalists wishing to participate in the coverage of the meeting can receive the accreditation over the phone: +7 495 645‐6495 or by e-mail press@valdaiclub.com.
The Valdai Club was created in 2004. The purpose of the club is to strengthen and promote the dialogue between the Russian and international intellectual elite, to form an independent, objective and scientific analysis of the political, economic and social processes in Russia and internationally.
The functioning of the club is run by the Foundation for the Development and Support of the Valdai International Discussion Club which is a nonprofit organization supported by leading Russian organizations engaging in international relations, including the Russian Council on Foreign Affairs, MGIMO University, National Research University Higher School of Economics and the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.
Over the years, the Valdai Club discussions were attended by more than 800 representatives of the international research community from almost 50 countries.
