Experts discuss prospects for Southeast Asian countries' participation in Greater Eurasian Partnership

Political scientists, sociologists, economists, orientalists and other experts discussed which vectors of interaction between countries could be the most suitable for strengthening integration within the framework of the Greater Eurasian Partnership (GEP) at an international session held at the All-Russian State Library of Foreign Literature named after M. I. Rudomino in Moscow. This is reported by Eurasia Today, a partner of TV BRICS.

Co-operation with foreign partners from Asia-Pacific (APR) states is possible only in the conditions of systematic work with the local population, says Pavel Kuzmin, general director of the library.

"Long-term and systemic co-operation is possible only on the basis of mutual respect, search for unifying meanings and values. Having built this basis, it is possible to develop political co-operation, economic co-operation, and so on. But first we need to determine what binds us together in humanitarian terms. In addition, we need to understand that the creation of a common Eurasian cultural space, in my opinion, is a very interesting but not easy topic," Kuzmin stressed.

Miguel Palacio, Deputy Director General of the Library of Foreign Literature for Interregional and International Cooperation, spoke about the institution's contribution to strengthening humanitarian relations in all-Russian and international contexts. "Greater Eurasia are countries with different linguistic and religious traditions. We understand that the spiritual component is the foundation of traditions, and our library is in constant search of these values, trying to share them with a wide audience," Palacio said.

Economist and political analyst Alexey Avdonin suggested that the BEP integration should be viewed not only from Moscow's perspective, but also from the perspective of its other participants. The speaker expressed confidence that China needs co-operation with Russia.

Alexander Gushchin, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Post-Soviet and Interregional Studies of the Russian State University for the Study of Post-Soviet and Interregional Relations, emphasised that Russia should work systematically with Asia-Pacific countries, as in any other region. This activity includes changing approaches to oriental studies – it is necessary to develop bilateral tracks, building relations with each country, taking into account its specifics (joint business projects, work with local youth, etc.).

According to Marina Lapenko, Associate Professor at the Department of Comparative Political Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences, only relations built on trust and mutual respect of partners work in ASEAN countries. Therefore, any initiatives should be based on the humanitarian component. The expert is convinced that Russia can achieve significant success in building a dialogue with Asia-Pacific countries.

All speakers agreed that interaction with Asia-Pacific countries is an important part of the BEP project. For the successful implementation of this idea, it is necessary to comprehensively develop the humanitarian area of cooperation, in particular, education and youth contacts.

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