Ready for more: Valdai Club participants on the National Centre RUSSIA and its future

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For the first time, the National Centre RUSSIA is hosting the plenary session of the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club — the flagship event that has brought together 120 participants from 40 countries, from Algeria and Argentina to Japan and South Africa. Many guests visited the National Centre RUSSIA for the first time, while some come here regularly. Both groups agreed that the space has become an important point on the business and cultural map not only of Russia, but of the world as a whole.

"The National Centre RUSSIA is a remarkable space that is developing rapidly and becoming increasingly important. It opened only recently, but it is already hosting global meetings such as the Valdai Club session. And once the new building project is completed, I think the National Centre will truly become a world-class space," said Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club.

Misa Djurkovic, Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of European Studies in Serbia, figuratively compared the National Centre RUSSIA to the "crown" of Moscow.

"The National Centre RUSSIA is truly impressive. It is like the crowning point of Moscow, its summit, and I genuinely believe it will continue to develop. I hope that over time the war and sanctions will come to an end, and then it will be able to become an even more global space for guests from around the world," Misa Djurkovic shared.

Sergei Karaganov, Academic Supervisor of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at HSE University and Honorary Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, noted the positive and "youthful" atmosphere of the space where the Valdai Club's main session was held.

"Everything here is convenient and beautiful, and there are lots of people — especially young people. I knew this was a very cool space, but it turned out to be even better than I expected," Sergei Karaganov admitted.

Andrei Bystritsky, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, in turn expressed confidence that the new building of the National Centre RUSSIA would make the space even more convenient and representative: "This is not my first time here. It is a very good, large, interesting and convenient space, and I think the new building of the National Centre RUSSIA will be even better."

The new building of the National Centre RUSSIA in Moscow is being constructed on the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, who launched construction in March 2026.

The plenary session of the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club took place on the fourth and final day of the event. On the final day of the forum, President of Russia Vladimir Putin addressed the participants. The broadcast is available on the website and on the National Centre's social media accounts.