Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum Focuses on Rise of Asia on Global Arena

As Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, and other Asian leaders take part in Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum, the event has proven that Asian nations, unlike Western countries, largely choose to enjoy prolific cooperation with Moscow over confrontation.

The Far East Street has become one of the major attractions for attendants of this year’s Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Russia’s Vladivostok. During the high-profile four-day event, the street has hosted exhibition stands designed to lure investors to Far Eastern regions and promote local culture.

2022 Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), in Vladivostok, Russia

© Sputnik / Denis Bolotsky

One such stand promotes the Magadan region, known for its gold mining industry. A store on Far East Street sells jewelry made of gold extracted in Magadan's mines.

“We are happy that our foreign partners did not abandon us because of sanctions,” says Lyudmila Zolotina, the commercial director of the company Arbat based in the Magadan region. The firm has its own fleet of helicopters and Japanese-made Komatsu heavy machinery. “We need that equipment because it takes a lot of labor to extract the soil, to find the gold nuggets and to create jewelry. We also have a team of 10 jewelers who make what you are seeing here in our store,” she added.

But the case of Arbat is an exception: many Japanese companies have left Russia, as Tokyo has joined sweeping anti-Russia sanctions over Moscow’s special operation in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke at the plenary session of the EEF on Wednesday, has slammed the sanctions-based Western approach to cooperation:

"Western countries strive to maintain the old world order that is beneficial only to them, to force everyone to live according to the notorious rules that they invented and themselves regularly violate, constantly changing these rules, depending on the current situation” – said the Russian leader.

An attendee of this year's EEF, Sammy Kotwani, who is the president of the Indian Business Alliance in Moscow, shares a similar view on the American and European restrictions:

“Sanctions are a marketing tool for America,” Kotwani told Sputnik. “But they don’t follow them themselves. They need oil – they take oil. They know how to market them very nicely. They have been also misusing them.”

While Western businesses and politicians have turned away from Russia, powerful players in the East, such as India, China, Vietnam, Mongolia, Malaysia, and others have decided to act independently and to keep intact some, or all of their economic and political ties with Moscow, which has contributed to Russia's efforts in countering the impact of hostile Western policies.

According to Glenn Diesen, who is a professor at the Department of Business, History and Social Sciences at the University of South-Eastern Norway, countries like India and China can easily absorb all extra supplies that Russia has to offer as a result of the cancellation of its contracts with the West, and Beijing, as well as New Delhi are also capable of withstanding the pressure from Washington when it comes to their refusal to cut ties with Moscow.

“The multipolar world is already here,” Diesen said in an interview with Sputnik. “If it hadn’t been, I don’t think Russia’s performance over the past six months would have been possible. If you keep in mind what the West was trying from February and March – I think the idea was to crash the Russian ruble, the financial system, the economy. And, obviously, the reason why that is not possible is because when the West cuts, for example, the energy imports from Russia, Russia can pivot to the east.”

This year’s Eastern Economic Forum has attracted more than 5,000 visitors, with China sending the largest delegation – 205 people. Myanmar has sent almost all of its Cabinet of ministers, with a total of 87 people in the delegation. More than 60 countries and territories are represented at the event, with sessions focusing on bilateral ties between Russia and India, Russia and China, on business cooperation between Moscow and ASEAN nations, as well as on other topics. The forum will conclude its work on September 8, with some of its venues, such as the Far East Street becoming open for the general public.