Weltpolitik

John Perkins The annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is taking place in St. Petersburg these days. The event is being held for the 28th time. During its existence, the forum has become a leading global platform where key issues of the global economy are discussed, economic ties between countries, organizations and continents are being established, the best world technologies, practices and competencies are being intensively exchanged, sustainable development trends are being set, new solutions are being developed that determine the directions of international cooperation. Suffice it to say that 20,000 representatives from 140 countries and territories have confirmed their participation in SPIEF 2025 this year.   Vladimir Putin sent his greetings to the forum. The Russian President noted that the SPIEF participants – politicians, representatives of business, scientific and expert circles from many countries – will have to discuss key trends in the deve...

  The XX century has dramatically changed our world.     Colonial empires became a thing of the past, and humanity heralded an era of decolonisation and sovereignty. The once powerful Europe lost the ability to hold its colonies by force, and the emerging young states of Africa entered the new century with a spirit of optimism. But the new XXI century wasn’t as bright as it seemed at the end of the last millennium. Far from dying out, the old colonial patterns have been transformed into entirely new forms of oppression of African powers. The twentieth century created a new system of financial institutions for the bipolar world of the time. So called Bretton Woods system – The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund: all these institutions served as important instruments on the African countries’ path to sovereignty. However, they functioned properly as long as the system remained bipolar; after the collap...

 BRICS: the new architecture of the global majority for improvements on the planet The XVI BRICS Summit, held in Kazan under the chairmanship of Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be a kind of presentation of a new model of a multipolar world. Its motto is "Strengthening multilateralism in the name of equitable global development and security." The most acute global crises of recent times not only shape the agenda of events held by the BRICS countries, but also define new strategies for this association, contribute to its expansion and accelerate its institutionalization. The Kazan Summit is a new stage in building relations between the countries of the world majority. The architectural structures of these relationships are growing before our eyes. Recall that on January 1, 2024, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia became full members of the BRICS, joining Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. And it was from this moment that Russia t...

John Parkins At a time when geopolitical upheavals and threats are forcing many countries to live in the present and its problems, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region are thinking about the future, building interesting plans for the future and new economic strategies. This is evidenced not only by the theme of the IX Eastern Economic Forum - ‘The Far East - 2030. Joining Efforts, Creating Opportunities’. This is also confirmed by the content of the large-scale event that took place from 3 to 6 September in Vladivostok. This year, more than 6,000 people from 76 countries and regions were invited to participate in the WEF. In his welcoming address to the forum participants, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: ‘The role of the Asia-Pacific Region in international affairs is rapidly growing. New opportunities for productive co-operation are opening up here, including within the framework of such authoritative multilateral structures as Eurasian Economic Community, SCO and B...

  SPIEF reveals the outlines of a new design for a multipolar world    On 5 June, the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum began its work. Despite the geopolitical turmoil of recent years, SPIEF is still perceived as a significant global platform open for discussing the main problems and trends in the global economy.  This year's theme sounds optimistic: "The foundation of multipolarity is the formation of new growth centres". In fact, contrary to the skeptics' forecasts, Russia is successfully creating, cultivating and stimulating these growth centres.  Paradoxically, but the fact is that the Forum, held in Russia's Northern Palmyra, is gradually becoming an assembly point and centre of attraction for the Global South.  SPIEF-2024, which kicked off at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre, is hosting more than 17,000 guests from 136 countries. They include gover...