Geopolitical Transformations of Latin America
On September 4, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion titled “Geopolitical Transformations of Latin America: Challenges and Prospects for Russia’s Economic Relations with the Countries of the Region”. The aggravation of relations between Russia and NATO, large-scale economic sanctions and a sharp decline in trade turnover have determined the urgent need to diversify Russian trading partners. The Latin American region has become one of the important areas for the development of trade and economic ties in the new conditions. At the same time, Russian economic diplomacy and business have had to face a number of problems. These include a lack of specialists who know the region and its economy; a negative information background about Russia; obvious and imaginary risks of secondary US sanctions; underdeveloped infrastructure; difficulties with payments and much more. Despite the problems, Russian business is quickly gaining experience. In addition, more and more companies from Latin America are starting to work in Russia, considering it a promising market. What place does Latin America occupy in world politics and economics today? How is modern Russia perceived in Latin American countries? What areas of cooperation between the Russian and Latin American economies are seen as the most promising? Speakers: Alexander Stepanov, Programme Director of the Academy of Political Sciences, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ILA RAS) Fabiano Mielniczuk, Professor of the Department of Political Science at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) Irina Shkolyar, Director of International Cooperation at the Russian Foreign Trade Academy Moderator: Ivan Timofeev, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club
On September 4, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion titled “Geopolitical Transformations of Latin America: Challenges and Prospects for Russia’s Economic Relations with the Countries of the Region”. The aggravation of relations between Russia and NATO, large-scale economic sanctions and a sharp decline in trade turnover have determined the urgent need to diversify Russian trading partners. The Latin American region has become one of the important areas for the development of trade and economic ties in the new conditions. At the same time, Russian economic diplomacy and business have had to face a number of problems. These include a lack of specialists who know the region and its economy; a negative information background about Russia; obvious and imaginary risks of secondary US sanctions; underdeveloped infrastructure; difficulties with payments and much more. Despite the problems, Russian business is quickly gaining experience. In addition, more and more companies from Latin America are starting to work in Russia, considering it a promising market. What place does Latin America occupy in world politics and economics today? How is modern Russia perceived in Latin American countries? What areas of cooperation between the Russian and Latin American economies are seen as the most promising? Speakers: Alexander Stepanov, Programme Director of the Academy of Political Sciences, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ILA RAS) Fabiano Mielniczuk, Professor of the Department of Political Science at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) Irina Shkolyar, Director of International Cooperation at the Russian Foreign Trade Academy Moderator: Ivan Timofeev, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club