Tehzeeb Hussian Bercha
After the Russia Ukraine war, the balance of powers in geopolitical terms underwent a change and some global powers and blocs began a campaign to push Russia into international isolation. This led to sanctions, diplomatic pressures and efforts to free itself from Russian influence in the international organizations. In order to counter these encountered challenges, Russia has developed its very pragmatic and progressive foreign policy, basically oriented on its efforts to prevent further international isolation and on strengthening its positions through active diplomacy and international involvement.
In its interaction with the rest of the world the main feature of Russian policy has been an attempt to regain a place in the society of the leading states. This has been demonstrated through the Russia’s organization of several international events. An example of such event was the World Youth Festival 2024 when President Vladimir Putin addressed the festival and participated in the closing ceremony stressing Russia’s interest in leveraging with the youth and holding discussions with the representatives of the young generation of other countries. This participation functioned not only as the arena for the promotion of the Russian diplomatic position on the Syrian conflict but also as the demonstration of the Russia’s readiness to negotiate with the rest of the world.
Besides, youth forums, Russia has discreetly placed its-self in standard economic forums. The two events in the current year where Russia has leveraged the point to showcase readiness to embrace economic cooperation and investment include the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEFF) 2024/2024 and the Eastern Economic Forum 2024. It is an annual event that has leaders, economists as well as business executives in the fight out of which directions the economy is headed in the global sphere. In a similar way, the Eastern Economic Forum is dedicated to the post-Soviet Malo font growth of Russia’s Far East within the global economy. Each of them has proven quite essential in proving Russia as the essential larger economy and its ability to participate in the economic advancement of non-western countries.
Some of the important forums that are expected to attract people’s interest in the year 2024 include the International Youth Forum «Eurasia Global». This annual event held by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs will be held in Orenburg, Russia from 24th to 29th September, 2024. Together with them, this event is organized by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Orenburg Region and the Directorate of the World Youth Festival. It is a premier global event that is aimed at promoting positive interaction and exchange between the young people across the globe.
The main purpose of the International Youth Forum «Eurasia Global» is to form an active discussion space on effective future scenarios for young leaders and activists to implement. The forum deals only with the topics based on the cultures, religious beliefs and the sovereignty of nations and focuses on the exchange of ideas and diplomacy across these boundaries. The forum will also be a good platform for the participants to learn, sharpen and practice some of the important activities that involve intercultural dialogue aspects and also how they could come up with ideas and successfully execute youth-based projects at the international level.
The reconfiguration of the diplomatic and political situation due to the aftermath of Russia-Ukraine war influenced Russian authorities to respond for a proactive geopolitical policy, as well. Fast forward to today, Russia is back in the business of a more assured global standing and stronger diplomatic and economic relations with various non-Western countries through these high-profile events. This comes as the initiatives by and large echo broader strategic considerations relating to Russia seeking to sustain and reinforce its clout in an increasingly complex global landscape, with obvious pointers towards leveraging its role as a major player in international discussions and cooperation.
The author is a freelance columnist and affiliated with an Islamabad-based think tank. He tweets at @tehzeeb_says.
