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On April 29, 2022, the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly held an international round table “Eurasian Partnership: New Protocols of Interaction in the Countries of the Middle East and North Africa”. The co-organizers of the round table were the Middle Eastern and Russian partners of the Assembly: the Association of Arab Universities, Belgorod Shukhov State Technological University, Union of Arab Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities.
The Secretary-General of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly Andrey Yuryevich Belyaninov and the rector of the Belgorod Shukhov State Technological University Sergey Nikolaevich Glagolev opened the work of the round table. Dr. Amr Ezzat Salama, Secretary-General of the Arab Universities Association, addressed the participants with greetings and wished them good work. Also, the work of the round table was welcomed by Natalya Aleksandrovna Bocharova, Deputy Minister of Science and Education of the Russian Federation, Mr. Riad Haddad, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Syrian Arab Republic in Russia; Mr. Abdel Hafiz Nofal, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Palestine in Russia; Mr. Mohamed Ali Kamil, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Djibouti to Russia; Mr. Onur Ahmad Onur, Chargé d'Affaires of Sudan Embassy in Russia, Minister Delegate.
The round table, which announced in the program the discussion of the cornerstone issues of international cooperation in the MENA countries in the context of a new political and economic paradigm, brought together a wide representation of political, state, financial and public organizations from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Russia, Syria . Secretary-General A.Yu. Belyaninov, expressed special gratitude to the Middle Eastern partners for participating in the round table during Ramadan, which undoubtedly emphasized the vital importance of the topics covered for the new architecture of cooperation.
Food security in the modern context, Scientific and technical cooperation, New financial tools and The role of supranational and regional public organizations in building new unifying models of cooperation were the main topics of the panel discussion, moderated by Yulia Igorevna Petrova, Deputy Secretary-General and Dr. Nur Nada, Professor at Cairo University, financial consultant for State and commercial structures of Egypt, the royal family of Saudi Arabia, ex-Minister of Labor of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
During a lively and informal discussion, important statements and proposals that can be taken as a basis for the formation of new forms of partnership were made. Thus, Petr Alekseevich Chekmarev, Chairman of the RF CCI Committee for the Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, confirmed Russia’s readiness to meet the needs of the MENA countries in equipment and food supplies. Mikhail Leonidovich Khazin, Russian public figure, economist, publicist, television and radio host, stressed the need to create new Eurasian institutions to support export and import operations through the expansion of currency instruments. Ibrahim Ali Saif Rashid Mulatim, Head of Investment Projects of the Executive Office of Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan voiced the need to search for new mechanisms of interaction in his speech. Also he invited Secretary-General A.Yu. Belyaninov to visit the UAE to promote a constructive dialogue. As Natalya Aleksandrovna Bocharova, Deputy Minister of Science and Education of the Russian Federation, emphasized, scientific and educational cooperation are the main drivers of economies. It should be noted that the Assembly has been actively involved in the development of science diplomacy processes since its establishment: among other projects that received international and national support is the project “Smart Cities Solutions: East-West” with the participation of the largest MENA universities. The project was awarded a grant from the Gorchakov Diplomacy Support Fund.
Summing up the discussion, Alexandra Vasilievna Ochirova, Co-Chair of the General Council of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly, member of the State Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador emphasized the special importance of public organizations in building relationships at all levels in the modern world, since it is they who have the main task of building outlines of partnerships both between people and between States.
Since the discussion involved a significant number of participants who made important proposals that need to be implemented as soon as possible, the ANE will continue to publish guests’ speeches in print and video formats.
The Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly thanks Dr. Nur Nada, Professor at Cairo University for participating in the preparation of the program and the work of the round table, for providing materials. Also, it expresses special gratitude to Dr. Yasser Allaham, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Union of Arab Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities for active assistance in organizing the round table. For many years, Dr. Allaham has been consistently building cooperation between the MENA countries and Russia, being an authoritative mediator and architect of many projects in economic, scientific, educational and humanitarian partnership.