Promising areas of cooperation between Russia and the Global South discussed at the Symposium

The panel discussion "The Vision of a Shared Future of Russia and the Global South in Mega-Projects" was held on 8 October during the International Symposium "Inventing the Future". Representatives from five countries discussed prospects for collaboration for the sake of the future and exchanged best practices in building dialogue between major businesses, governments and international organisations. The event was co-organised by the Centre for African Studies at the Higher School of Economics.

Participants explored issues of strategic partnership amid technological transformation and the changing world order.

Maxim Kuznetsov, Director of Strategic Development and Partnerships at the AIRI Institute, noted that many countries will likely seek to create their own national AI models in the near future. However, developing such fundamental systems requires enormous volumes of data, computing resources and scientific expertise. He believes that the creation of the AI of the future is possible only through international cooperation, allowing participants to share knowledge, infrastructure, and technologies.

Secretary General of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Nasser Al-Mutairi (Kuwait), expressed confidence that no country can handle global and regional challenges alone. Only joint action, exchange of experience and expanded cooperation can lead to success.

"If we truly want to address the challenges before us — from climate threats to digital inequality — we must strengthen cooperation at all levels: regional, subregional and within international organisations. Without this, bridging the gaps and achieving a sustainable future is impossible," said Nasser Al-Mutairi.

Photo: Press Office of the National Centre RUSSIA

Amarquaye Armar (Ghana), Chairman of the Board of Directors of First Atlantic Bank Limited, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the West Africa Sustainable Engineering Network for Development (WASEND) and Independent Board Member of Transco CLSG, shared the experience of West Africa in developing regional energy integration and cooperation with Russia in the field of nuclear energy.

"Cooperation with Russia, especially through Rosatom projects, gives us access to nuclear energy — a critically important source for countries that otherwise rely on costly diesel fuel. We view nuclear energy as part of a long-term strategy where Russia can act not only as a supplier but also as a partner in joint investment, engineering and technology. Importantly, this is about systemic rapprochement, not one-off projects," explained Amarquaye Armar.

The discussion also featured Kristina Amor Maclang (Philippines), Co-founder and Secretary General of the International Digital Economies Association (IDEA) and Managing Partner of ASEAN.IO; Elvira Dovletyarova, Director of the Agrarian and Technological Institute of RUDN University named after Patrice Lumumba; and Samuel Rahimeto Kebede (Ethiopia), Director of the Division of the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute.

The II International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is being held on 7–8 October at the National Centre RUSSIA, bringing together participants from more than 85 countries as well as all constituent entities of the Russian Federation. It involves over 260 Russian and foreign experts from China, the United States, Italy, Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is organised on the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, under the auspices of the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia, with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Analytical partner is VCIOM Analytical Centre. Literary partner is Eksmo-AST Publishing Group.