The forum, which was held for the first time in 2015, is the most representative platform in Russia to address the socio-political and economic processes of Latin America, Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries and their countries History and culture.
The central themes this year include the challenges and opportunities of Russian-Latin American relations in international, political and economic circumstances described as “turbulent” in the name of the forum, whose previous editions described the world as “turbulent.” “Globalization”.
“The world is no longer globalizing, but rather fragmented and turbulent in the face of such rapid and accelerated changes,” one of the organizers, Víctor Jéifets, editor-in-chief of Latin America magazine, told Sputnik . and professor at St. Petersburg State University.
The above-mentioned changes – including the sanctions imposed on Moscow – would have made organizing this year’s edition “very” difficult, said Jeifets, who cited a scarce direct flight connection between Russia and Latin America as one of the challenges.
However, it was possible to maintain the size of the forum and to some extent increase its representativeness. And this year, many more Latin Americans will come from countries like Turkey, China and India, as well as Central Asian countries.
Regarding the Latin American presence, Jeifets indicated that this will be the case a significant effort Personal participation of participants from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Bolivia and other countries in the region. Figures such as Alejandro Encinas Rodríguez, Undersecretary of State for Human Rights, Population and Migration of Mexico, will take part in the forum; Chilean Sergio Bitar Chacra, former Minister of State under Presidents Salvador Allende, Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet; or María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, who was Chancellor of Ecuador and President of the United Nations General Assembly.
According to Jéifets, relations with Latin America –one of the priorities of Russia’s new foreign policy strategy–, they need an update to take a leap into topics such as commercial exchanges or humanitarian cooperation, something that will be very present in the debates of the forum participants, who will also focus on trends such as the formation of a new multipolar system world and the Further development of structures such as the BRICS group.