Global international issues will be discussed at Valdai Forum

From October 22 to 24 the international discussion club "Valdai" is going to hold a meeting in Sochi for the eleventh time. The event is expected to bring together more than a hundred politicians and experts, 65 of whom represent more than 20 countries in North and South America, Europe and Asia, as well as neighboring countries. According to Andrei Bistritsky, Chairman of the Foundation Board of the club "Valdai", this year's theme for the forum will be "World Order: Rule or a game without rules?". Bystritskii explained that the decision to choose this very theme was due to what is happening now in the world, which is at least alarming: "It is very unclear. And thinking about it, about this troubling and dangerous situation, seems quite relevant. It is crucial to find answers to these questions."

The rector of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Anatoly Torkunov, also highlights the importance of this topic in today's world: "All the sessions that will be held in the framework of "Valdai" will be devoted to one of the most important issues of today's international affairs, world politics. And above all, how we plan to continue to live in the world community. Will there be any rules for the game, for life, or will it be a game without rules? And ultimately all the other issues are related to this main question, as we all undertsand that today the world order is changing. It is important that it is not changed in the direction of chaos, but towards the acquisition of new features that will allow the world to develop and establish a new system of international relations, and in general to build a new world system, of course, based on the achievements that have already occurred in the last decades in the field of international relations."

Talking about how this forum will differ from the previous ten, Torkunov noted that "an important new element is that the upcoming "Valdai" will focus on the very serious, indigenous problems of the day, global issues and problems of regional importance, including issues related to the Middle East and the situation in Ukraine. Another important difference is the fact that the earlier "Valdai" was still largely positioned as a club of foreign experts, who discuss with Russian experts the situation in Russia and Russia's place in the world. Today we think we should be talking together with foreign experts about what is happening in the world."

Sergei Karaganov, chairman emeritus of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, believes that "Valdai" has always been a place where the Russian intellectual elite met with foreign ones, and this has turned out to be very useful for both parties. He is confident that "Valdai" should continue its work in the same spirit.

The president of the Russian Council for Foreign Affairs, Igor Ivanov, said the Valdai forum has changed not only in terms of the topics discussed, but also in terms of its structure. A new form of the forum is the so-called "think tank". Such a "think tank" is now very much in demand, because, as we have seen, the number of complex international problems is increasing. However, unfortunately the state does not always have time to address these problems right away. And, of course, it requires some new ideas, a more extensive discussion. On the other hand, today the role of civic society in the discussion of various proposals and international issues is increasing. Therefore, the role of such a "think tank" is obvious today, it seems to me," Ivanov said.

The expert sees the task of such a "think tank" not in creating another propaganda site, but in establishing a place where high-level experts from different countries and different points of view can share their opinions in a constructive manner and discuss various problems, as well as develop their proposals: "Therefore, we hope that "Valdai" is just such a place. There will be a constructive dialogue, constructive discussions, we will manage to find answers to the complex problems that the international community is facing now."