Movement towards multipolarity hardly be stopped
The 17th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum was heartily hosted by the United Arab Emirates in early December. The event – organised by the Italian non-profit Conoscere Eurasia Association, the Roscongress Foundation and the UAE Chamber of Commerce and Industry – gathered more than a thousand politicians, experts, scientists, diplomats, CEOs of large companies and journalists from forty countries in sunny and hospitable Ras Al Khaimah to discuss a wide range of global issues: energy, infrastructure, transport, finances, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and medicine. The forum themed New Architecture of Co-operation for Contemporary Economy once again confirmed its high status as a tolerant and democratic platform where the future of Greater Eurasia and the development of a mutually respectful business dialogue could be discussed in detail.
The United Arab Emirates became another venue for the Verona Eurasian Economic Forum not by chance. The event was hosted by Italian Verona for fourteen years – even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, geopolitical realities forced the organisers to change the traditional venue. In 2022, the forum was for the first time held outside Italy: in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. Later, it was hosted by Uzbek Samarkand. This year, the organisers chose the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah as the venue.
According to Professor Antonio Fallico, the President of Conoscere Eurasia Association, the decision to make the Verona Eurasian Economic Forum a moving event turned out to be successful, since it made it possible to organise the discussion in the heart of Greater Eurasia, attracting new countries and international associations. “From the very beginning, the Verona forum was promoting a strategy followed by the UAE, among others: to give preference to economic development and trade and to conduct a dialogue between entrepreneurs and societies of any countries, even those belonging to different geopolitical and social blocs,” he noted.
Opening the large-scale meeting, the experts expressed sincere concern: geopolitical factors are having an increasingly negative impact on the economy and trade around the world. Is it possible to say that globalisation is being replaced by regionalisation of relations? What centres are being formed in the Eurasian space? How is it possible to ensure that the green agenda is more based on reality? So far, the international community has more questions than answers, but the 2024 Verona forum showed that multipolarity and equal co-operation meet the interests of the vast majority of countries.
His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, heartily welcomed the guests. In his speech, he underlined the UAE policy of openness, “The economic development and fight against climate change are our common duty. These are important topics for the UAE and the entire global community... Our leaders always looked ahead and thought about how to create a culture of tolerance, inclusivity, and dialogue. Let me remind you that, in the 1960s, there was a desert here, but now everything is green, and life is flourishing. We have successfully overcome challenges such as poverty and hunger, and these difficulties have made us stronger. People arrive to us from all over the globe today, and among them there are representatives of different nationalities and religions. The UAE stands for trade and economic co-operation with everyone.”
BRICS rapidly gaining momentum
Professor Antonio Fallico has a strong belief: the destruction of the unipolar system, the evolution towards multipolarity can hardly be stopped. “The rapid development of BRICS is a striking example of this process. Some tend to present this organisation as anti-Western, competing with structures patronised by the United States. However, if it is alternative, then this is only in terms of its structure, philosophy, and way of doing business. BRICS is not based on an internal iron hierarchy, it has no main or dominant participant, it does not dictate to others what and how they should do,” he explained. “This organisation is developing a common platform for action in international geopolitics, and it is also ensuring the achievement of compromises, discussing the most acute events in conditions of equality and parity, even between competing countries and not always bosom friends.”
In his opinion, this gives results, albeit not quickly, but the agreements are mutually beneficial, so they are guaranteed a long life. “We are witnessing a rapid increase in the number of countries seeking to join BRICS. About 40 countries have publicly expressed interest in joining BRICS, of which 23 have already submitted an official application. Therefore, the status of a BRICS partner was specially created, and it has been granted already to Bolivia, Cuba, Turkiye (NATO member), Belarus (Russia’s ally), Indonesia (fourth most populous country in the world), and Nigeria (African giant),” Mr. Fallico added.
The Italian Professor offered to look at the further development of the situation in the world, taking into account the US presidential elections. “Much has been written about how Donald Trump’s election caused panic in some European capitals and in the European Union. The reasons vary, including the President-elect’s desire to end the conflict in Ukraine. Will an anti-American front become possible in Europe? The question may seem strange, but London, Paris and Brussels are thinking about how to use various actions aimed at the conflict escalation to force the new American administration to make decisions it would like to avoid. In particular, the European Commission is preparing to withdraw 392bn Euros from the Cohesion Fund – designed to overcome inequalities in the development of different zones of the European Union – to spend them on the development of the European military industry and the allocation of military aid to Ukraine,” he said, adding, “There are fears that Donald Trump will resume pressure on NATO allies for them to allocate 3 percent of GDP to military spending, threatening to leave the alliance if the US partners disobey. Some NATO members are in a hurry to comply and loudly report it. But it is unlikely that the US will leave NATO. Meanwhile, what will the increase in military spending lead to? These funds will be used to buy more American weapons!”
US failing to regard EU
Over the past 45 years, the redistribution of wealth of developing countries in favour of developed states has amounted to $16 trillion, and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin commented, “Globalisation has exacerbated inequality and failed to ensure stability. The United States has lost its primacy in world trade, and the American Dollar is gradually losing its position as an international means of payment. The United States has been trying to strengthen its leadership in trade for decades – doing that by any means, including through the pressure with the help of the World Trade Organisation. Having failed to fully subordinate the WTO to its interests, the American administration does not hesitate to take unilateral measures contrary to the WTO norms... Moreover, the imposition of sanctions does not even require proof of guilt, which contradicts the basic principles of international law. Using the Dollar as a sanctions tool is a big mistake, since trade will never stop. Both energy security and life in general depend on it. There will always be alternatives.”
Another question which the Verona forum participants were focused on dealt with the reasons of the decreasing influence of Europe. Romano Prodi, the President of Fund for International Co-operation, the President of the European Commission in 1999-2004, the former Prime Minister of Italy, was asked to comment, and he said via a videoconference call, “Unfortunately, Europe cannot pursue a world-class policy in its current form. The United States does not regard the European Union. Europe is weakened, this is undeniable. A qualitative leap is needed, which is possible if France, Germany and others adhere to common European interests. Only then will Europe be able to regain its role as an international arbitrator.”
Lessons of equality
The forum delegates listened to the speech of Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin with special interest. The Serbian guest was sincere and impressive in his address: he spoke about the shortcomings of the EU, Serbia's interest in BRICS, the attempts of some global powers to maintain their dominance by all means, and the dead-end rejection of important traditional values in the West.
“The West is in a turbulent state, there has been a complete change in values. We have always been told that there is democracy in the West, and this will never change. However, that scheme worked only when the West was superior to everyone else and dictated them what to do,” the Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia said. “Political crises in France, Germany and other countries happened, and people there voted for the far right. Democracy ended immediately then, as the elite said the choice of people had been wrong. It turned out that there is no democracy. The Western elites say that people do not have the knowledge and qualifications to make the right choice. It is now challengeable to find a government in the West that is doing what citizens want.”
According to Aleksandar Vulin, similar processes are developing in the Western economy as well. “We thought that the market economy was part of Western democracy, but the market economy operates now in Russia, China, and the UAE – though not in the European Union. If someone – for example, an Indian business – wants to invest in the EU economy, they will face bureaucracy and huge problems,” he stressed.
At the same time, the Deputy Prime Minister sincerely praised BRICS, “It is becoming a very important and strong organisation. Serbia wants to know more about BRICS. The European Union is urging us to impose sanctions against Russia, but we will not do this, we do not want this. In turn, BRICS does not ask for anything, it does not place demands. The BRICS countries are not calling for sanctions: they have offered a wonderful opportunity to become part of the economy that covers a half of the world. We want to understand how BRICS wants to expand – i.e. whether the organisation wants to become part of specific economies of countries, how the security issue will be resolved, and so on.”
The forum delegates warmly supported Aleksandar Vulin. Many experts noted that the role of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation and other regional associations will continue growing in the near future. At the same time, it was emphasised that the entire Eurasian integration is based on equality and mutual respect – which is very important.
Financial sector undergoing transformation
Interim Chairman of the Credit Bank of Moscow’s Management Board Maksim Korzhov drew attention of the forum participants to the fact that the role of new technologies in modern human life is rapidly increasing.
“The UAE is the country that has cultivated the technology boom to the utmost. AI and digital currencies are being actively developed here. Actually, the United Arab Emirates is a unique place: Western technology has been transferred here and applied with view on the local landscape,” the expert said. “Moreover, using digital currencies makes it possible to avoid the dependence on the currencies of the leading powers. Resilience to external pressures is emerging, and prerequisites for strengthening the economy are being created.”
Speaking about the vision of the future of the financial world, Mr. Korzhov named three main trends: decentralisation, principles of equality and integration, and focus on the technological process.
As the session participants noted, the United Arab Emirates is one of the main global and regional leaders in the field of high technologies. It was in the UAE that the first ministry dealing with the AI-related issues was established.
Digitalisation, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence are not just buzzwords: Veroljub Arsic, the National Assembly Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending of the Republic of Serbia, believes these new trends are significantly transforming the economy, industry, finances, and society today. “We are witnessing now huge changes in all spheres of life, including finance, industry, technology, healthcare, and the climate agenda. At the same time, it should be understood that financial changes in the world are not only the result of innovations, but are also, rather, a response to new challenges that are now emerging everywhere," he said.
Emphasising the fact that the financial world is going through one of the most turbulent periods of transformation at present, Veroljub Arsic drew attention to the key factors that are changing the working conditions of banks and financial institutions: these are unique innovative solutions, the emergence of new payment systems due to technological progress, the expansion of the range of currencies for making payments, and the aggravation of debt problems.
“We must not forget about certain political restrictions that digitalisation has introduced. Today, some countries are questioning the massive use of payment systems, platforms and digital currencies, because people are afraid of losing control of their finances, being subjected to cyber-attacks or misuse of data. These are the new threats and challenges that we all need to resolve promptly. We understand that a wide range of new digital money provides more opportunities on a global scale, but risks are also growing. These problems certainly pose a challenge to the global economy. New financial crises are possible, they are dangerous,” the expert stressed.
Mikhail Popov, the Deputy Chairman of the RSPP (Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs) Committee on Scientific, Educational and Innovation Policy, was invited to speculate on the topic of the new industrial revolution. Which is more important: the real sector that supplies real products to the market or the creators of online content who occupy leading positions in terms of market capitalisation?
Mr. Popov stressed that modern Russian business already has experience in successfully weaving digits into the real economy, and all participants in the process benefit from this.
“Russian companies pay great attention to the field of education, primarily the education of young people in the regions," Mr. Popov addressed the forum participants. “There, especially in remote cities, people begin to engage in creative forms of business and creativity: it makes life better, new niches and jobs appear. New types of theatres are emerging, as well as interesting architectural projects and original troupes that work at the intersection of digital and real art. This allows us to move from the 4.0 economy to the 5.0 economy, which is focused on people and increasing human potential. Our experience in creating educational centres for creative industries, which are located in regional cities, can be useful to many.”
Verona Forum promotes intellectual exchange
As noted by Professor Antonio Fallico from Italy, the President of Conoscere Eurasia Association, summing up the results of the two-day international meeting, the 17th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in Ras Al Khaimah was a platform for free communication – filled with openness, mutual respect for each other and promoting tolerance and intellectual exchange.
“Everyone was able to express their opinion on pressing issues, no one tried to impose their point of view, there were no disputes or conflicts. We all felt at home, also thanks to the support of the UAE authorities and personally Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, a member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah,” Professor Fallico emphasised. “This free exchange of views is important for business, as it needs a sense of certainty and the ability to predict. The economic diplomacy of the Verona Eurasian Forum helps promote co-operation across all areas, which in turn contributes to the common good, a fairer, more balanced and productive community.”
The Italian expert added that, due to such communication, new contacts are established and new opportunities for development emerge. The President of Conoscere Eurasia Association, who is also the founder of the Verona Eurasian Economic Forum, expressed the hope that the experience the participants of the meeting gained in Ras Al Khaimah will allow everyone to make progress in many areas.
Rich history
Ras Al Khaimah is the northernmost of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. It is famous for its diverse landscapes – 64km-long beaches, deserts and majestic mountains – as well as the rich history dating back 7,000 years. There are many archaeological sites here, four of which have been included in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Ras Al Khaimah – which name is translated as ‘the top of the tent’ (the emirate resembles a triangular tent top in its shape) from Arabic – is located at the modern crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa. Its economy is one of the most diversified in the region. For 15 years, the international rating agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's have rated Ras Al Khaimah at the ‘A’ level. The emirate is home to more than 38,000 businesses from 100 countries representing 50+ different sectors of the economy.
