Dear Readers,
For this installment of my free geopolitical newsletter I want to share
a piece I wrote in the midst of the US and EU economic sanctions war against
the Russian Federation in late 2015. In it I outline the history of how
Washington and the International Monetary Fund robbed the new post-Soviet
Russian Federation under Boris Yeltsin of the very core essentially of
economic sovereignty, namely the state’s control over money issue. They did
so through the aid of government insiders who had bet their personal futures
on siding with Western “shock therapy” economists against the interests of
their own country and its people.
In this piece I outline my proposal for generating state-initiated--but
Soviet-style controlled-- economic growth in urgently-needed basic
infrastructure. It draws on how federal Germany after World War II financed
its own reconstruction using state institutions of subsidized credit such as
the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (Credit Institute for Reconstruction)
during the 1950s to stimulate what became known by the 1960s as the German
Economic Miracle. It was no miracle, rather an appreciation of the role of
public banks and directed credit into select economic infrastructure. For
those of you interested in a deeper treatment of the history of the Russian
Federation during the tumult of the Yeltsin era of the 1990’s and the
incredible measures Washington took to destroy Russia as a functioning nation
state, you should watch for the appearance soon of my newest book, Manifest
Destiny: Democracy as Cognitive Dissonance.
For a better reading experience I converted the text to a pfd-file
which You can find in the attachment of this mail. It's 7 pages in A4
format.
I also encourage you to consider making a support contribution at my
website,www.williamengdahl.com, that I am able to continue
offering my content for free.
Thank you again for your interest,
F. William Engdahl
Frankfurt, Germany
Russia Can Solve All Economic Problems Itself
F. William Engdahl
November, 2015
Since Washington and the EU imposed hostile and unwarranted financial
and economic sanctions on Russia after the spring of 2014, President Putin
and the Russian government have made many sometimes brilliant moves to
respond to the de facto acts of financial warfare. However, they have avoided
dealing with fundamental deeper distortions and vulnerabilities in the
Russian economy and monetary order. Failure to do so in the future could
prove to be Russia’s Achilles Heel if not addressed. Fortunately, Russia can
do something about it even before an alternative currency to the US dollar is
at hand. It requires simply a bit of consequent rethinking about the
situation.
The key to Russia’s economy, to any economy for that matter, is the
question of who controls the issue and circulation of credit or money, and
whether they do it to serve, directly or indirectly, private special
interests or for the common national economic good.
Chaos swept the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics after the fall of
the Berlin Wall in November 1989. In July 1990, one of the first acts of
“democrat” and Western media hero, Boris Yeltsin, the newly elected President
of the Russian Soviet Socialist republic, one month after declaring
independence from the USSR, was to create the independent Central Bank of The
Russian Federation. That was one of the first acts, fully three years before
formal adoption of a new Russian constitution in 1993, where the independent
role of the Central Bank of Russia would be outlined in Article 75.
At the time US hedge fund speculator, George Soros, had brought Jeffrey
Sachs and Sweden’s Anders Aaslund to Russia to “guide” Yeltsin “shock
therapy” advisers such as Yegor Gaidar and Anatoly Chubais. Together, along
with pressure from the IMF, they turned the country into an impossible chaos
and economic collapse for most of the 1990’s. Pensions were wiped out as the
Russian National Bank under the leadership of Viktor Gerashchenko, printed
endless supplies of worthless rubles, creating a mammoth hyperinflation of
prices. A handful of favored Russian oligarchs close to the Yeltsin family,
such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky or Boris Berezovsky, became staggeringly wealthy
oligarchs while the vast majority barely survived. This was the social petri
dish in which the Article 75 mandating the new Central Bank of the Russian
Federation was formally adopted.
The Russian Central Bank, which is today a member of the
western-controlled Bank for International Settlements in Basle, has the
explicit constitutional mandate to be an independent entity, with primary
responsibility of protecting the stability of the national currency, the
ruble. It also holds exclusive right to issue ruble banknotes and
coins. That’s de facto life and death power over Russia’s economy.
With Article 75 the Russian Federation de facto gave away sovereignty
over her most essential power–the power to issue money and create credit.
Amid the horror of hyperinflation which few Russian citizens understood was a
deliberate strategy of Gerashchenko and his Western advisers, a strict,
politically “independent” US-style central bank seemed an urgency. It was in
fact a trap.
Today that central bank trap has come home to haunt President Putin,
his government and the Russian people as a US-imposed financial warfare and
targeted sanctions forced the Central Bank to raise key interest rates
December 2014 threefold to 17% to try to defend a ruble in free-fall. Today,
despite a significant stabilization of the ruble, central bank rates remain a
severe 11%.
The Russian Central Bank, no matter how patriotic the person running
it, is a monetarist institution not an arm of sovereign state policy. To keep
the Ruble “stable” means stable against the US dollar or the Euro. That means
the independent Russian Central Bank is de facto hostage to the US dollar,
hardly an ideal circumstance in the current state of de facto war by other
means underway from NATO, the US Treasury Department, the CIA, Pentagon and
US neoconservative warhawk circles.
During the June 2015 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum I was
told by a quite senior Russian government minister that there was an intense
internal debate inside the government and around Putin’s advisers, about
re-establishing a public national bank, as opposed to the independent
BIS-modelled central bank imposed by the West on Russia in 1990.
National Development Bonds |
Blog Archive
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2017
(74)
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▼
November
(10)
- Russia Can Solve All Economic Problems Itself -- ...
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a working vi...
- Meeting on supporting talented youth in arts
- Statement by the Presidents of the Russian Federat...
- APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting wrapped up in Vietnam
- First day of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting
- Putin and Trump shook hands on the margins of the ...
- Article by Vladimir Putin, The 25th APEC Economic ...
- L'intervention de Vladimir Poutine au Forum Valdai...
- L’intervento di Vladimir Putinal Forum Valdai 2017
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▼
November
(10)
Monday, November 27, 2017
Russia Can Solve All Economic Problems Itself -- F. William Engdahl
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a working visit to Russia
On November 20, President Vladimir
Putin had talks with President of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar
al-Assad who was in Russia on a working visit.
November 21, 2017
08:00
Sochi
With President of the Syrian Arab
Republic Bashar al-Assad.
Vladimir Putin also introduced Bashar
al-Assad to senior officials of the Russian Defence Ministry
and the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces who were
in Sochi to attend another series of meetings on military
construction and the State Armament Programme.
* * *
Beginning of meeting with President
of Syria Bashar al-Assad
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr
President, friends,
Welcome to Sochi. First, let me
congratulate you on Syria’s results in combating terrorist groups
as well as on the fact that the Syrian people, despite
a very difficult ordeal, are gradually moving towards the final
and inevitable defeat of the terrorists.
Mr President, as you know, I will
meet with my colleagues – the presidents of Turkey
and Iran – here in Sochi the day after tomorrow. We have
agreed to hold additional consultations with you during our meeting.
Of course, the main subject on the agenda is
a peaceful and lasting political settlement in Syria after
the routing of the terrorists.
As you know, in addition
to the partners I have mentioned we are also working closely
together with other countries, such as Iraq, the United States,
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. We maintain constant contact with these
partners.
I would like to talk with you
about the basic principles of the political process
and the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, the idea
of which you have supported. I would like to hear your opinions
on the current situation and development prospects and your
views on the political process, which should ultimately be
implemented under the UN auspices. We also hope that the UN will join
the [political] process at its final stage.
I am glad to see you. Welcome
to Russia.
President of Syria Bashar al-Assad (retranslated): Thank you
very much, Mr President.
I am very glad to have this
opportunity to meet with you two years and several weeks after Russia
launched a very successful operation.
Over this period, we have achieved major
success both on the battlefield and on the political
track. Many regions in Syria have been liberated from the terrorists,
and the Syrians who had to flee from these regions can now
return there.
It should be acknowledged that
the operation brought progress to the political settlement
in Syria. And the process which was started and which
Russia promoted with various efforts continues, above all, based
on respect for the UN Charter, the state’s sovereignty
and independence. This stance has been defended at various
international platforms, including the talks in Astana. The same
goes for the plans to hold the Syrian National Dialogue
Conference in a few days. Today we have an excellent opportunity
to discuss both the upcoming conference and the upcoming
summit, and to coordinate our views on the next steps.
First, I would like to take
an opportunity and pass congratulations and gratitude from
the Syrian people to you, Mr President, for our joint success
in defending Syria’s territorial integrity and independence. We would
like to extend our gratitude to those institutions
of the Russian state that provided assistance – primarily,
the Russian Defence Ministry that has supported us throughout this
operation. Also I would like to pass our gratitude
to the Russian people who remain a friendly nation to us.
They have supported us all along.
Thank you very much.
Vladimir Putin: You mentioned
the Astana talks. I also think they were quite a success. Thanks
to the Astana process we managed to create de-escalation zones,
which allowed us to start the first real and in-depth dialogue
with the opposition.
Based on the outcome of this
meeting, I will consult further with the leaders
of the countries I just mentioned. A conversation with the Emir of Qatar is
scheduled for today. Tomorrow, I am speaking with US President Donald Trump. After that, I am speaking with
the leaders of the countries in the region.
As you know, the so-called Riyadh
opposition group will hold a meeting in Riyadh
on November 22–23. Our representative, Mr Lavrentyev, will attend
the opening and closing of this meeting, as well as a news
conference, as a special presidential envoy. Therefore,
I believe that our meeting today is a very good opportunity
to coordinate our approaches on all settlement issues. I am glad
that we can do this.
Bashar al-Assad: At this stage,
and especially after our victories over the terrorists, we are
interested in promoting the political process. We believe that
the political situation that has developed in the regions offers
an opportunity for progress in the political process. We
hope Russia will support us by ensuring the external players’
non-interference in the political process, so that they will only
support the process waged by the Syrians themselves.
We do not want to look back. We will
accept and talk with anyone who is really interested
in a political settlement.
Vladimir Putin: Very good. You have
mentioned the completion of the military operation.
I believe that terrorism is a global problem and the fight
against it is, of course, far from over. As for our joint
efforts against the terrorists in Syria, this military operation is
nearing completion indeed.
I believe that the main task now
is to launch the political process. I am glad that you are ready
to work with anyone who wants peace and conflict resolution.
<…>
With President of the Syrian Arab
Republic Bashar al-Assad at a meeting with senior officials
of the Russian Defence Ministry and the General Staff
of the Russian Armed Forces.
Meeting with senior officials
of the Defence Ministry and the General Staff
of the Russian Armed Forces
Vladimir Putin: I have asked
the President of Syria to attend our meeting.
I want him to see those who have
played the key role in saving Syria.
Of course, Mr Assad knows some
of you personally. He told me at our talks today that
the Russian Army has saved Syria as a state. Much has been done
to stabilise the situation in Syria. I hope that we will
close the chapter on the fight against terrorism in Syria,
although some seats of tension will remain or will flare up again.
There are more than enough problems with
terrorism in the world, including in the Middle East
and Syria. But our main mission is almost accomplished,
and I hope we will be able to say that we have accomplished it
soon.
We have held very substantial talks with
the President of Syria today on all aspects related
to normalisation, including subsequent steps on the political
track. As you know, we will hold a trilateral meeting here
in Sochi. However, I would like to say that conditions
for a political process could not have been created without
the armed forces, without your efforts and the efforts
and heroism of your subordinates. This goal has been achieved thanks
to the Russian Armed Forces and our Syrian friends
on the battlefield. Thank you for this.
Bashar al-Assad (retranslated): President
of Russia Vladimir Putin and I have just held talks. I have
conveyed to him, and on his behalf to the Russian
people, our gratitude for Russia’s efforts to save our country.
I would like to highlight
the contribution of the Russian Armed Forces
and the sacrifices they have made to achieve this goal.
I was very glad to learn that you, those of you who were
directly involved in the operation [in Syria] and who
commanded the activities of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria
will be present here today.
The operation barely started when
I met with President
Putin in Moscow two years ago. In the two years since then we
can see the success that has been achieved thanks to cooperation
between the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Army. Nobody
can deny this success in the fight against terrorism now. Thanks
to your actions, as well as the actions
of the Syrian Army and our allies, many Syrians have returned
home.
Speaking on behalf
of the Syrian people, I would like to express our gratitude
for what you have accomplished. We will never forget this. Also,
I would like to thank personally President Vladimir Putin, [Defence
Minister] Sergei Shoigu and [Chief
of the General Staff] Valery Gerasimov for their direct
involvement in this operation.
Thank you very much.
Meeting on supporting talented youth in arts
Vladimir Putin held a meeting
on identifying, supporting and training talented youth
in the arts.
November 17, 2017
18:30
St Petersburg
Meeting on supporting talented youth
in arts.
The meeting was held
in the New Stage building of the State Academic Mariinsky
Theatre.
Opening speech at the meeting
on identifying, supporting and training talented youth
in the arts
President of Russia Vladimir Putin:
Good afternoon, friends, colleagues.
Today, I suggest that we discuss ways
to support young people. As you are aware, we have been paying much
attention to this area in recent years across many different spheres,
including research activities, creative projects and blue-collar
professions. We are covering different areas.
Today, I would like to talk about
things that are close to you, and discuss ways to support young
talented people who are being trained or are taking their first steps
in the arts. Of course, this is one of the most
important areas.
Long-standing and rich traditions
of creativity, great schools of theatre, art, ballet, and music
are certainly part of our national heritage. Russia continues to hold
strong, if not leading positions in this area. The state, cultural
figures and the public should not just preserve these traditions, but
build on them and ensure continuity.
This is a prerequisite
for the harmonious, mature, and free development of our
society and our entire country. Our competitiveness in culture
and the arts will be just as important for our future,
which is taking shape literally before our eyes,
as in the spheres that I have just mentioned, primarily,
the hard sciences, technology, and the like.
We are now forming an entire system
aimed at identifying and discovering young talents. I have
already mentioned these areas which include science, engineering,
and blue-collar professions, and, of course, sports. We should focus
on supporting them as they make their first steps in their
careers, which are sometimes the most difficult. Our discussion today is
also designed to elicit suggestions for innovative and more
effective approaches.
It is obvious that working with talented
and creative young people, especially in a sphere like culture,
requires additional flexibility and unusual approaches, as well
as doing away with standardised templates, mechanical uniformity
and other such things. We should not narrow the training
of creative professionals down to simple “educational services.”
I have heard people criticise this
phrase many times. You know, it is impossible to get away from it
completely, I understand this, but I also understand that this is
something bigger than just a service. By the way, our colleagues
in healthcare say the same thing.
According to expert assessments, we
have accumulated a whole host of problems, which must be solved
to preserve the high level of training in the arts.
The most important of them is the so-called sectoral approach we
have now, which means categorising culture as part of the social
sphere only, which has been the traditional approach.
According to many of your
colleagues, its norms and rules, including financing methods, target
indicators and current tender and accounting systems have become
something like a Procrustean bed for culture.
Perhaps this view is debatable, but we can
partly agree with it, of course, it is not groundless.
Let us spend some time on this issue,
as well as other aspects, and I am ready to talk about
them. Let us discuss what measures are necessary to create the most
favourable approach to developing culture in general and education
in this area in particular.
I would also like to discuss
the issue of financial support for professional training
in creative fields. Let me note that the initiative
of the participants of the Tavrida National Youth Forum has
already been implemented. They proposed, if you remember – maybe some took
notice – to give talented people an opportunity to receive
a second degree in culture and the arts free
of charge. Today it is prohibited by law.
There are 20 additional grants
for that, which will be provided each year on a competitive
basis. The application for them has already been reviewed
at the Presidential Grants Foundation.
I would like to stress that these
grants will be added to the money, big money in fact, that
the foundation already allocates for projects in culture
and the arts. Non-profit organisations have received 621 million
rubles for this this year alone.
Let us also discuss which measures we should
take to increase the quality of training creative professionals
and to create the necessary conditions to form
the next generation worthy of Russian art.
Who would like to begin?
<…>
Vladimir Putin: I am not going
to make a closing speech now, but I would like to reassure
you that we will try to summarize all that has been said and we will
respond to it as soon as possible.
These open [procurement] tenders that Mr
Zaslavsky and many colleagues have mentioned, they are not necessary
for everything aside from general everyday items such as paper clips,
curtains and chairs, which can be purchased at open tenders,
and this should be done.
But the rest, everything related
to creative activities, does not fit into this Procrustean bed
as I have mentioned, and it is not possible to fit it
there. Therefore, amendments certainly need to be made.
As regards the arts
and culture in the education system being assigned to some
department, I think you are right to a large extent. Once more,
I do not wish to try and solve these issues
on the spot. But we will work towards this.
Lastly, Mr Matsuyev began and Mr
Bashmet finished speaking about discovering and training talented young
people. This all depends on funding. We have already discussed this with
our colleagues, and I propose adding a new element
to the presidential grants system –support for talented
young people to help them take their first steps without thinking about
money.
Denis Matsuyev said his grandmother had
to sell her apartment. So we must make sure young people have
opportunities, because not everyone has parents who can do such things
and grandmothers who can sell something. And there are talented young
people – musicians, actors, authors – and we must provide
assistance to them.
This is the first part.
And the second part of this grant should go to discovering
talented young people. We will make this addition to presidential grants
an annual thing; it will amount to one billion rubles.
Thank you very much!
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Statement by the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States of America
November
11, 2017
President
Trump and President Putin today, meeting on the margins
of the APEC conference in Danang, Vietnam, confirmed their
determination to defeat ISIS in Syria. They expressed their
satisfaction with successful US-Russia enhanced de-confliction efforts between
US and Russian military professionals that have dramatically accelerated
ISIS’s losses on the battlefield in recent months.
The Presidents agreed to maintain open military channels
of communication between military professionals to help ensure
the safety of both US and Russian forces and de-confliction
of partnered forces engaged in the fight against ISIS. They
confirmed these efforts will be continued until the final defeat
of ISIS is achieved.
The Presidents
agreed that there is no military solution to the conflict
in Syria. They confirmed that the ultimate political solution
to the conflict must be forged through the Geneva process
pursuant to UNSCR 2254. They also took note of President Assad’s
recent commitment to the Geneva process and constitutional
reform and elections as called for under UNSCR 2254.
The two Presidents affirmed that these steps must include full
implementation of UNSCR 2254, including constitutional reform
and free and fair elections under UN supervision, held
to the highest international standards of transparency, with all
Syrians, including members of the diaspora, eligible
to participate. The Presidents affirmed their commitment to Syria’s
sovereignty, unity, independence, territorial integrity, and non-sectarian
character, as defined in UNSCR 2254, and urged all Syrian
parties to participate actively in the Geneva political process
and to support efforts to ensure its success.
Finally
President Trump and President Putin confirmed the importance
of de-escalation areas as an interim step to reduce
violence in Syria, enforce ceasefire agreements, facilitate unhindered
humanitarian access, and set the conditions for the ultimate
political solution to the conflict. They reviewed progress
on the ceasefire in southwest Syria that was finalized
the last time the two Presidents met in Hamburg, Germany
on July 7, 2017. The two presidents, today, welcomed
the Memorandum of Principles concluded in Amman, Jordan,
on November 8, 2017, between the Hashemite Kingdom
of Jordan, the Russian Federation, and the United States
of America. This Memorandum reinforces the success
of the ceasefire initiative, to include the reduction, and ultimate
elimination of foreign forces and foreign fighters from the area
to ensure a more sustainable peace. Monitoring this ceasefire
arrangement will continue to take place through the Amman Monitoring
Center, with participation by expert teams from the Hashemite Kingdom
of Jordan, the Russian Federation, and the United States.
The two
Presidents discussed the ongoing need to reduce human suffering
in Syria and called on all UN member states to increase
their contributions to address these humanitarian needs over
the coming months.
Vietnam,
Danang, November 10, 2017
APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting wrapped up in Vietnam
The 25th APEC
Economic Leaders’ Meeting ended in Danang.
November
11, 2017
13:30
Danang
On the second
day of the Meeting, the APEC leaders reviewed the prospects
for the global economy with Managing Director
of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde.
During
the business breakfast, a discussion was held on establishing
an Asia-Pacific free trade zone and a possible expansion
of the APEC membership.
The final
meeting focused on investments and new driving forces
in international trade.
A joint declaration on the results
of the forum was approved. The 2017 APEC economic leaders
assessed the current regional and global economic situation, agreed
on the ways to deepen cooperation, identified a number
of tasks for next year.
November
11, 2017
In addition,
the President of Russia had a conversation with US
President Donald
Trump on the sidelines of the Meeting. The two
leaders approved a joint statement on Syria.
After
the completion of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation forum, Vladimir Putin answered questions from Russian
journalists.
* * *
Transcript
of meeting with Russian journalists
Question: Good
afternoon. The APEC summit is about to end. I would like
to ask about your assessment of the work with the leaders,
and possibly some organisational matters.In line with APEC
traditions, a final document has been adopted. How did this work progress?
There were probably some disagreements.
President
of Russia Vladimir Putin: Regarding organisation, Vietnam has done
everything possible for us to work comfortably and has
undoubtedly created a very good atmosphere. This is number one.
Second.
Concerning the summit’s theme – it is a highly relevant topic.
You know – since most of the journalists here are Russian –
we pay much attention to the digital economy in Russia
in its different aspects and manifestations, and we consider
problems from different angles.
I think
it is vitally important that Vietnam raised exactly this topic because we
should not only discuss some of the issues together but also resolve
them together. It is impossible to do it alone.
For example,
there is much talk about small and medium-sized businesses, and micro
business, but we have to realise how it can be integrated
in the overall system, the general operational chain
of the modern economy, the information economy.
What
needs to be done to achieve that? Russia had specific proposals
in this respect, and I voiced them. It concerns the very
definition of the conceptual apparatus – what is digital
economy, what is digital trade and so forth. It seems very simple
at first glance but in fact it requires careful analysis.
Or, take
another example: we must understand the social consequences of new
technologies. Some people say that it is dangerous and frightening since
a lot of jobs will become redundant, and it is unclear what
should be done about it. Others say there is no problem; we will just need
retraining.
But it
requires an expert assessment, it requires working with trade unions,
international experts and the International Labour Organisation,
the ILO. All of this was a subject for our discussion.
Other
issues were also discussed, of course, including the fight against
terrorism and the situation on global energy markets. We have
just talked about it during business lunch.
We also
spoke about the future of APEC. Mutual trade grew many-fold during
the organisation’s lifetime. This basically shows the efficiency
of the organisation.
We
discussed the need to further liberalise markets and build up
relations within a common and open market. Although some think that
it is too early to talk about it because of the different levels
of the member states’ economies.
Ms
Lagarde’s report on the global economic situation was very
interesting. We know that the global economy keeps growing
and the mid-term forecast is good. But according to her there
are risks related to the fact that the wage growth rate
in the developed economies is slowing down, which cuts into
the consumer purchasing power.
She also
spoke about the need for a balanced budget, finance
and credit policy, and the need for structural changes
in the economy. These were the subjects of our discussion.
All that
is extremely interesting, important and needed. And the fact
that we have a general idea of the direction to move
in is of great significance.
First day of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting
The first
day of the 25th APEC Economic Leader’s Meeting
in Danang concluded with a gala reception given
by the President of Vietnam in honour of APEC economic
leaders.
November
10, 2017
18:45
Danang
Photo
ceremony of APEC economic leaders. With President of Peru Pedro Pablo
Kuczynski.
The President
of Russia took part in meetings of the APEC economic leaders
with members of the APEC Business Advisory Council and with
heads of ASEAN delegations.
In addition,
Vladimir Putinheld bilateral meetings on the forum’s sidelines with
President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte,
Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe,
President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang and President
of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.
The forum
will continue on November 11. The participants plan
to adopt a Joint Declaration of the Leaders
on the basis of its results.
Friday, November 10, 2017
Putin and Trump shook hands on the margins of the APEC summit
Путин и Трамп пожали друг другу руки на полях саммита АТЭС
Putin and Trump shook hands on the margins of the APEC summit
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Article by Vladimir Putin, The 25th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Danang: Together Towards Prosperity and Harmonious Development
November
8, 2017
21:00
The 25th anniversary
APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will take place in Danang very soon,
on November 10 and 11.
We
greatly value the APEC forum for the ample opportunities it
affords all participants to engage in discussions and coordinate
positions on a variety of economic, social, environmental,
and cultural issues. Our countries strive to cooperate based
on the principles of consensus and voluntary participation,
mutual respect and willingness to compromise, regardless
of the political situation. This is what APEC’s unique spirit
of partnership is all about.
As a major
Eurasian power with vast Far Eastern territories that boast significant
potential, Russia has a stake in the successful future
of the Asia-Pacific region, and in promoting sustainable
and comprehensive growth throughout its entire territory. We believe that
effective economic integration based on the principles
of openness, mutual benefit and the universal rules
of the World Trade Organisation is the primary means
of achieving this goal.
We
support the idea of forming an Asia-Pacific free trade area. We
believe this is in our practical interest and represents
an opportunity to strengthen our positions in the rapidly
growing APR markets. I want to note that over the past five
years, the share of APEC economies in Russia's foreign trade has
increased from 23 to 31 percent, and from 17 to 24 percent
in exports. And we have no intention of stopping there.
Of course,
the large-scale project to create the APEC free trade area
should be carried out with due account of the experience gained from
implementing key integration formats in the Asia-Pacific region and Eurasia,
including the Eurasian Economic Union, in which Russia cooperates
with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Our union has been
developing dynamically, and we are eager to build relations with all
countries and associations that are interested in doing so. Vietnam,
the host of this year’s Forum, was the first state to sign
a free trade agreement with the EAEU. As a result, our
trade grew significantly and became more diversified. Talks on a trade
and economic cooperation agreement with China concluded a short while
ago. Talks with Singapore have begun, and we are working
on the possibility of signing a free trade agreement with
ASEAN.
On a related
note, I would like to mention our idea to create
the Greater Eurasian Partnership. We suggested forming it
on the basis of the Eurasian Economic Union
and China’s Belt and Road initiative. To reiterate, this is
a flexible modern project open to other participants.
Comprehensive
development of infrastructure, including transport, telecommunications
and energy, will serve as the basis for effective
integration. Today Russia is actively modernising its sea and air ports
in the Russian Far East, developing transcontinental rail routes,
and building new gas and oil pipelines. We are committed
to implementing bilateral and multilateral infrastructure projects
which will link our economies and markets. Among other projects, I am
referring to the Energy Super Ring that unites Russia, China, Japan,
and the Republic of Korea, and the Sakhalin-Hokkaido
transport link.
We
pay special attention to integrating Russia’s Siberian and Far
Eastern territories into the network of APR economic ties. These
efforts include a whole range of measures to enhance
the investment appeal of our regions, and to integrate
Russian enterprises into international production chains.
For Russia,
the development of our Far East is a national priority
for the 21st century. We are talking about creating
territories of advanced economic growth in that region, pursuing
large-scale development of natural resources, and supporting advanced
high-tech industries, as well as investing in human capital,
education and healthcare, and forming competitive research centres.
We
hope that our foreign partners, primarily from APEC economies, will play
an active role in implementing these programmes and projects.
All the more so, as foreign participants of the annual
Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok already had a chance
to gain confidence in the prospects and feasibility
of our plans.
We
have an equally serious approach to involving small
and medium-sized businesses in APEC economic integration processes,
and supporting female entrepreneurship and start-up companies run
by young entrepreneurs. Of course, we attach special importance
to strengthening our cultural ties and expanding our contacts
in the sphere of science and education. Looking ahead, we
will focus on forming a common APR education space, one of whose
centres could be the Far Eastern Federal University.
We
believe that establishing effective cooperation to support innovation is
the most important task we face in this dynamic era. As such,
Russia has put forward a number of specific initiatives. These include
unifying digital economy and trade rules, harmonising national technical
standards, coordinating strategies for forming high-tech markets,
and creating a uniform conceptual framework for the digital
space. We have also shared with our partners our experience in providing
e-services to the public. In addition, we suggest starting
consultations within APEC on international information security
and protection of computer software.
Preventing
and providing relief following natural disasters and man-made accidents,
epidemics and pandemics is another challenge that requires a joint
response by all APR partners. Of course, we need to tackle food
security issues together and think about how to meet
the region's rapidly growing demand for high-quality and healthy
food. Russia is one of the world’s leaders in exports
of grain, vegetable oils, fish, and a number of other
foods. We expect to become the leading supplier of ecologically
clean food to our neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region.
To do so, we are taking measures to increase agricultural output
and improve productivity.
We
intend to engage in substantive discussions of all these topics
during the upcoming summit in Danang. I am confident that,
acting together, we will find acceptable solutions to the challenge
of supporting the steady, balanced, and harmonious growth
of our shared region, and securing its prosperity. Russia is ready
for such a collaborative effort.
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2015 President - EN from Roberto Petitpas on Vimeo.