The Primakov Readings (Russian: Примаковские чтения) is an international summit aimed at promoting dialogue on trends in global politics and economics among high-ranking experts, diplomats and decision-makers. The summit is named in honor of the academician and statesman Yevgeny Primakov. The Readings are intended both to commemorate Primakov and to continue to develop his ideas through international dialogue.
The summit is organized by the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) and is held in Indian, India. Approximately 50 leaders from think tanks, universities and the diplomatic community from more than 30 countries participate in the Readings each year.
The conference focuses on scenarios of the development of international relations, challenges in the sphere of international security and new models of interaction between States, corporations and other entities.
Mission The purpose of the event is to create in Russia a regularly operating international platform aimed at discussion of problems of world economy, politics and international security with the participation of leading representatives of Russian and foreign research and expert-analytical centers.
Primakov Readings are designed to intensify the dialogue between leading experts from different countries and regions, promote discussion of the approaches to address global and regional problems, and encourage the interaction on the "Track II diplomacy".
Summits
Primakov Readings 2015 The first Primakov Readings were held On October 29, 2015, at the World Trade Center (Moscow). The event was created to commemorate one of the most outstanding politician and scientist Yevgeny Maximovich Primakov, who had died in June of that year, and was timed to the day of his birth.
His friends and colleagues met in order to reminisce the joint work. They appreciated the contribution of Yevgeny Primakov to Russian politics, journalism and science.
Primakov Readings 2016 Named "World Order Crisis: expert community response", the Readings were held in a three-day format from November 28 to November 30 in Moscow, at the World Trade Center, and consisted of two events: the International Studies Think Tanks Forum (November 28–29) and the Primakov Readings Summit (November 30). The Conference was dedicated to the 60-th anniversary of IMEMO. It was organized in cooperation with Think Tank and Civil Society Program (TTCSP) of the University of Pennsylvania and designed to initiate international discussion among leading representatives of global “think tank” community on major economic, social, political and security challenges and threats for the international system and its sustainability.
The event was attended by representatives of government, leading Russian and foreign economists, political scientists and diplomats, outstanding public figures. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin opened the Summit.
The first day of the forum was devoted to regional problems of international relations and challenges to international security – in the Middle East and in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as to trends in the development of the world economy and prospects for Russia. Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation, Y. Ushakov, and director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, academician A. Dynkin, opened the conference.
The second day of the forum was devoted to trends in the development of modern world order and crisis trends in the sphere of international security. During the event there were thematic sessions, presentations and speeches of experts, as well as of diplomats and politicians, including Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation S. Ryabkov and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council of Russia, K. Kosachev. During the third day of the conference, Russian President V. Putin gave a speech. Putin shared his memories of Yevgeny Maksimovich, and also expressed his hope for the further application and development of the ideas of this outstanding politician and scientist.
Valentina Matvienko, Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, and Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, who recalled the diplomatic activity of Primakov, also shared their memories.
Among international participants of the Forum were: former Italian Foreign Minister, L. Dini; former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt and Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Musa; former General Secretary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, J. Solana; former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Adam Rotfeld; former British diplomat, Sir John Holmes; German diplomat, Wolfgang Ischinger; French historian of international relations, Dr. Thomas Gomart; Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent, Richard Sakwa; American political scientist, Robert Legvold; vice chairman of Samsung Group, Lee Jae-yong.
Primakov Readings 2017
Named “The World in 2035” in 2017 Primakov Readings caused wide resonance not only in Russia, but also abroad. The forum was attended by 503 Russian and 80 foreign guests (291 representatives of scientific organizations), as well as by 231 representatives of the media. Primakov Readings were covered in more than 70 major Russian and 10 foreign media. In addition, during the event more than 20 interviews with key speakers were taken by various agencies.
Program
The first day of the event began with the welcoming words of the organizers of the Primakov Readings. The participants were greeted by the Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Y. Ushakov, who read out a welcoming address from the President of the Russian Federation, V.V. Putin. Chairman of the Board of Directors of the World Trade Center, President of the Russian Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry S. Katyrin and President of IMEMO A. Dynkin have also delivered their welcoming speeches.
During the thematic sessions, the panel on Russian-American relations was held under moderation of the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, S. Ryabkov. Among other experts who participated in discussion were: Richard Burt - former chief negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, K. Kosachev - chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council of Russia, S. Rogov - an academician, director of the Institute for US and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, an expert on the reduction of nuclear weapons and strategic weapons, Feodor Voytolovsky – Director of IMEMO.
Second session of the Primakov Readings 2017 was focused on international cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. The main partner in its conduct was the largest social sciences' think tank in India - the Observer Research Foundation. The session was addressed by outstanding experts in the region: Nandan Unnikrishnan, vice president of the Foundation, one of the leading Indian experts on issues of the post-Soviet space and Russian-Indian relations, Shin Un, former ambassador, president of the National Security Strategy Institute (INSS) and others.
The third session covered the potential of the emerging new economic landscape in Eurasia. The moderator was Shingo Yamagami, a Japanese eminent statesman who currently is the head of the Institute of International Relations. Among the participants was Guan Guhai – specialist in modern Russian-Chinese relations and leading consultant in several Chinese ministries.
The last event of the first day was the session on international terrorism, moderated by Robert Legvold, a distinguished Sovietologist, one of the leaders of the Euro-Atlantic Security Initiative. The world's top experts took part in the session: V. Naumkin, adviser to the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, and Alex Schmid, editor-in-chief of the largest scientific online journal, Perspectives on Terrorism.
Second day of the International Forum Primakov Readings was opened by a special session with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and the former Secretary of State of the United States of America, Henry Kissinger. They presented their vision for the development of Russian-American relations and global politics in general, and expressed their hope for an early resolution of acute issues, the resumption of dialogue and close cooperation.
During the thematic panels, experts discussed relationship between Russia and the EU, the Russo-Ukrainian War, and a new technological revolution. Primakov Readings 2017 were completed by the speech of the chairman of the Board of the Center for Strategic Research Alexey Kudrin.
Primakov Readings 2018 The main topic of Primakov Readings in 2018 was "Hedging Risks of Unstable World Order". The forum participants focused on scenarios of transformation of the international relations system, prospects for the development of the new world order and its stabilization, as well as on the most important challenges and risks of regional and global security.
Program
The Readings were attended by 65 prominent foreign experts from 22 countries and more than 600 representatives of the Russian scientific and expert community, public authorities, political and business circles, as well as by more than 200 media representatives. The Readings raised wide public resonance both in Russia and abroad: 38 interviews were conducted, with coverage of more than 30 million followers, and in the first week after the event, there were 1,668 reports about "Primakov Readings" in the mass media.
At the opening ceremony prominent personalities such as Aide to the President of the Russian Federation Y.V. Ushakov, Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation V.I. Matvienko, member of the Council of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Head of the LDPR faction V.V. Zhirinovsky, chairman of the Board of Directors of the World Trade Center, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation S.N. Katyrin and President of IMEMO A.A. Dynkin, made appeals to the participants of the conference. President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin sent a greeting to the organizers and participants of the International Scientific and Expert Forum, expressing appreciation to the "Primakov Readings".
The first session - "New Bipolarity” – Myth or Reality?” – touched upon the problems of crisis of supranational and international institutions, as well as the appropriateness of the very concept of "bipolarity" in contemporary international relations. The expert from Austria said that Russia and China are moving towards establishing a new world order; however, it is too early to talk about the formation of a "new bipolarity". The expert from the United States disagreed, stressing that "competing bipolarity" is developing in the world, which will lead to a "new multipolarity". The representative from the PRC noted that China is in isolation, which Russia helps to overcome to some extent. In his opinion, the role of the new institutions, in the formation of which China is involved, is important, and that is why China's tactics might be somehow offensive. The representative of China did not rule out the possibility of conflicts between Washington and Beijing. From the Chinese point of view, the new bipolarity is unacceptable and it is preferable to strive for the formation of blocks.