Andrei Belousov attends St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2023 opening ceremony
First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov attended the opening ceremony for the St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2023.
Andrei Belousov noted in his address that the topic of sovereignty has become pivotal in political and economic life. According to many leading experts, the world is heading towards major system-wide transformations.
“The model of the global world order, which began to emerge long before the sanctions, has run out of resources for its existence. Many experts stress that this model can only function based on pumping resources from the peripheral or semi-peripheral countries to the core nations, which we identify as the so-called golden billion countries,” he underscored.
According to Andrei Belousov, the world’s biggest countries including China, India and Brazil have been opposing this model in recent decades.
“In this connection, I would like to state several points. First, obtaining sovereignty is an essential, critical condition for survival in today’s world and in the world which will be formed in the coming 10-20 years. Second, sovereignty pairs up with the acceptance of the world’s multipolarity, with the elimination of mono-centricity and the emergence of new super economies and centres of economic life. Sovereignty cannot be achieved independently; it is only possible through cooperative existence between nations and the establishment of strategic relations. The SCO, BRICS and a number of other associations are clearly examples of this; they represent a significant part of the global population,” Andrei Belousov said.
According to Mr Belousov, several conditions are needed to ensure sovereignty.
“The key condition is trust. Regretfully, the sanctions have severely damaged trust among nations. Restoring it and mending relations based on trust is one of the key goals for the coming years. Trust must be enshrined in the standards and rules of international life. These rules must be followed by everyone, which is the foundation of a just world. For sovereignty to materialise, alternative infrastructure must be created. This means financial, transport, energy and information infrastructure. These are key factors for nations to feel secure and have access to development resources,” First Deputy Prime Minster said.
Andrei Belousov summed up the changes in Russia’s trade relations with its partners.
“After the anti-Russia sanctions were imposed, trade with the European countries was nearly cut in half. At the same time, foreign trade with the countries of the East and South began to grow rapidly. Last year and in the first months of this year trade between Russia and China grew by over a quarter; Russia’s trade with the Persian Gulf countries grew by a third, and with India by four times,” he noted.
Andrei Belousov also talked about the plans for the new logistics routes our country has been developing.
“Russia is actively developing new global transport routes with a view to creating a transport infrastructure for a multipolar world. By 2030, transit volumes along these routes are expected to grow by 65 percent to almost 900 million tonnes of freight,” Andrei Belousov claimed.
