Without dialogue, there is no peace

The 18th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum took place in Istanbul on October 30th–31st. This international meeting confirmed once again its status as a key platform for dialogue among politicians, entrepreneurs, scientists, experts and public figures from Eurasia. The event brought together over 1,000 representatives from business, political, diplomatic, academic and journalistic circles from 30 countries. The main theme of the forum, New Energy for New Economic Realities, set the direction for discussions on promising areas for the development of the Eurasian space. The Forum was organised by the Conoscere Eurasia Association with the support of the Roscongress Foundation.  During the Verona Forum, the schedule was packed with numerous sessions and business meetings. Participants discussed topics such as the new realities of energy co-operation, global changes and their impact on business conditions, the situation in the real economy, the development of transport and logistics infrastructure, food production under climate change, digital technologies in the economy, and the contribution of tourism to global economic and cultural development.

Diplomacy for economic and social progress

Professor Antonio Fallico, the President of Conoscere Eurasia Association, emphasised the importance of global dialogue during the opening ceremony of the 18th Eurasian Economic Forum, urging countries around the world to shift from confrontation towards constructive conversation.
Highlighting the objective interconnectedness of countries on our planet, Mr. Fallico stated,

“The time has come for dialogue. Dialogue is an absolute necessity of our time and an absolute responsibility for all humanity.

The location is perfect: Istanbul, the only city in the world spanning two continents, Europe and Asia, connected by three bridges over the Bosphorus Strait. This strait also links the Black Sea to the Mediterranean through the Sea of Marmara, serving as a vital passage for Russia, Ukraine, Romania and other countries to access the Mediterranean.”
The Italian expert noted that during the forum’s two days, the participants will discuss a vast range of important issues and challenges, ‘without claiming to shift the tectonic plates of geopolitics and geo-economics’.
“We will begin exchanging ideas, visions and actions to promote diplomacy for economic and social progress and to build a future of prosperity and peace for those who come after us, for our children... The Verona Forum has always been open to all representatives of business and institutions, regardless of their geographic location, geopolitical affiliation, or even participation in military alliances,” the Professor added.
The Professor noted that recent forums have highlighted the importance of including voices from BRICS countries and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), given their current demographic, economic and geopolitical importance, “At the same time, we acknowledged the need for the economy to prioritise human needs and the interests of all stakeholders, rather than focusing solely on profit and shareholder gains, in order to avoid further worsening the widespread social inequality affecting the entire planet — Europe and Asia, East and West.”
The recent global events, including the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin following last year’s BRICS summit in Kazan, have clearly demonstrated that the Global South (also known as the global majority) is gaining significant influence and making independent decisions, Mr. Fallico added.
According to him, there are often attempts to simplify these events and portray the new reality as anti-Western.
“This is a significant misjudgement; a very serious one. What is happening is not directed against the West; it is happening without the West. It is not about antagonism or a desire to push the West aside. Rather, the West has stepped aside itself. It wanted to continue imposing its choices without considering the ongoing changes, interests and even fears of others, ignoring them and assuming it alone holds the absolute truth. To make others accept its choices, it resorted to pressure, setting various conditions and even force. This approach used to work and it did work. But now, it no longer does,” Mr. Fallico stated.

West never been liberal, giving rise to fascism, Nazism and other monsters

Historically, the West has not been liberal, as it gave rise to Italian fascism, German Nazism and Japanese militarism, Antonio Fallico underlined.

“Over the last 500 years, the West — both in a broad and narrow sense — has produced many monsters, including the violent conquest of America and the Global South, the genocide of indigenous populations, the enslavement of Africans and other native peoples, as well as colonialism, capitalism, imperialism, patriarchy, class conflict, racism, apartheid and the ideology of white supremacy,” the Italian expert emphasised.

Mr. Fallico believes that Western democracies are currently in their last phase of crisis, existing in a state of post-democracy, “The mainstream narrative about the clash between Western ‘liberal democracies’ and ‘autocracies’ is no longer acceptable. Ironically, the West asserts that it embodies ‘liberal democracy’ by opposing ‘autocracies’ like Russia, even though its central Anglo-American-French core — the originator of this democratic model — is currently undergoing a severe crisis, possibly nearing its end.”
The Italian Professor argues that the current transformation of the world and the emergence of a new system of multiple and multipolar governance in international affairs, which became evident after the 2008 financial crisis, have now reached a new crossroads. “This situation forces us to move away from outdated intellectual frameworks and to fundamentally rethink our perspectives in light of current realities. In this regard, it is necessary to demystify the concept of the West and its values,” he added.

Ignoring Europe is big mistake by US

At the Forum, Romano Prodi, the President of Fund for International Co-operation, the President of the European Commission in 1999–2004 and the Prime Minister of Italy (1996–1998, 2006–2008), presented a deep analysis of the problems faced by the European Union and the United States.
US President Donald Trump has complete distrust towards Europe. However, for Europe, building relations with the United States is considered a natural phenomenon, the Italian expert noted. “Ignoring Europe is a big mistake by the United States,” Mr. Prodi emphasised.
Reflecting on what happened to the European Union, which has been making decisions over the past five years that are counterproductive for the whole of Europe, the former President of the European Commission stated, “The enlargement of the European Union has resulted in paralysis. The EU now consists of 27 countries, yet we observe a stagnation in the progress of key European institutions: the European Parliament and the European Commission. It is essential to reform the EU’s decision-making process: currently, this poses a significant problem because, due to the requirement for unanimous decisions, we are unable to resolve even minor issues, let alone major ones... I was deeply disappointed that the European Union did not take action or intervene in the peace process in Ukraine, despite having all the necessary tools. However, the principle of unanimous decision-making prevented this from happening.”
Mr. Prodi added that this is a crucial topic to address today, considering the differences between states, regions and continents: our planet can only exist and develop peacefully if the disparities between all countries are acknowledged and respected.

“I believe fresh events indicate that the world is becoming increasingly polarised at two spots: one pole is the United States and the other is China. Recent meetings in particular have shown that the United States has already accepted the role China plays in the modern world.

  















Take the talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. What happened was that everyone thought that everything had already been decided one way or another, but in fact, during this meeting, neither side made any significant statements. This is the main part, and it makes the meeting between the US and China difficult to understand,” the expert stated.
According to Romano Prodi, first of all, as for tariffs, everyone seems to have calmed down a little, “Not because they agreed to, but because each side has realised that the other one has quite strong arguments that could be destructive. New technologies, well-known chips, solar energy and other arguments... But, one way or another, they have come to realise that this escalation needs to be postponed. In other words, the parties decided to take a break to calm the situation down, without taking any steps towards progress.”
Meanwhile, the Italian expert noted that the US and China discussed the Ukraine issue at length, “But no statement was made on the Ukraine issue either. That is how I understand it, I emphasise: the discussion on Ukraine can be seen as a positive development and an important step towards a settlement. Another important thing is that China and the US have agreed to meet next year. What does all this mean for the rest of the world? I think it can be seen as a kind of stepping stone or foundation for further shaping global politics. It is difficult to say, however, how exactly this will affect global trends. This is partly because the current US President is very different from his predecessors.”

Belarusian NPP and its role in state security

The forum featured a serious conversation dedicated to energy, its sustainability and environmental considerations.
Kirill Komarov, First Deputy Director General – Director for Development and International Business at the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, paid special attention to the impetus for development offered by the peaceful use of nuclear technology across all areas.
While implementing projects dealing with the construction of nuclear power plants around the world, including Belarus, Rosatom is offering all its partners best practices and advanced solutions to meet energy needs and technological sovereignty, he stated.
According to Mr. Komarov, nuclear energy has a big dream, to make people’s lives better. “We are approaching this goal with the help of clean energy, advanced methods of nuclear medicine, new materials and modern technologies. 

The development of nuclear technologies is critically important for any country’s technological sovereignty. Nuclear technologies mean not just energy: they also involve agriculture, science, and much more. Rosatom built the first nuclear power plant in Belarus, and it already produces 40 percent of the country’s clean electricity.

We have launched a number of other projects that are guided by our competence — such as electric transport and additive technologies. This is just the beginning, and serious development is underway,” the Rosatom representative said.
Mr. Komarov stressed that the whole world is deciding now how to provide the planet with clean, safe and stable energy, “This is impossible without nuclear power. Energy is needed in different locations and regions, and the global consensus has finally recognised that nuclear energy is the environmentally neutral one. We see that the demand for Rosatom’s technologies in the context of solving climate problems is growing rapidly.”
Rosatom’s representative confirmed that the Russian state corporation traditionally stands for the most extensive international co-operation, the exchange of experience and best practices, because it is possible to ensure the safe and sustainable innovative development of not only the nuclear industry and the energy sector, but also of the economy around the world, only if efforts are united. “By sharing our experience and innovations, we are building a global ecosystem of trust and security. I am convinced that our forum and the further strengthening of partnership in the Eurasian space will become a solid foundation for the implementation of the most ambitious ideas,” Mr. Komarov said.

Asia–Europe route via Northern Sea Route is finally reality

State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Transport of Russia Dmitry Zverev stated that the Asia–Europe route via the Northern Sea Route has become a reality. By the way, Belarus has already tested cargo delivery via the Northern Sea Route.
“The most ambitious project is the development of the trans-Arctic corridor: the most important thing is the establishment of routes from Asia to Europe via the Northern Sea Route. 

This is already a reality. This month, the container ship Istanbul Bridge delivered 1,000 containers from China to the UK in just 20 days. This is a full week faster than delivery by rail and three weeks faster than delivery by sea via the Suez Canal, not to mention the route via the Cape of Good Hope.”

The speaker also reported that Russian ports are currently undergoing large-scale reconstruction. We are increasing their capacity by 225 million tonnes to reach a total of 1.5 billion tonnes by 2030, he specified.

Key to mutual success

The Verona Forum is not aimed at any kind of division of countries or confrontation of blocs, be it cultural, geopolitical, economic or ideological: its goal is to promote humanitarian and economic ties, the forum’s founder Professor Antonio Fallico stated, summing up the results of the 18th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in Istanbul.
“I was hearing a call for dialogue over two days of our 18th Verona Forum. The modern world witnesses the difficult geopolitical situation and instability, but Eurasia needs something completely different. The business community wants stability that allows for forecasting, and this stability is important for all of humanity,” the Italian expert stated. “I would like to emphasise once again: ‘a dialogue’ was the main word at the panel sessions on energy, transport, and industry. That was the key message of all speeches.”
Antonio Fallico is convinced that the problem of modern times lies in the fact that the parties often fail to communicate with each other, while success is possible on condition of a discussion, albeit sometimes very acute. That is when there is a chance to find a solution.

“We must learn not only to listen to, but also to hear the other side — doing this intelligently, with empathy. It is important not only for world peace, but also for economic progress. Through dialogue, we strive to ensure the unity of the vast Eurasian space. 

This path is not easy, we should not overestimate our capabilities, our ability to influence some processes. Nevertheless, I hope that at the Verona Forum we have managed to contribute to the search for long-term solutions as a response to the challenges of our time. Even if we fail to move the geopolitical issue off the ground, it is very important that we feel our personal responsibility for promoting contacts in the humanitarian sphere and the economy,”  Antonio Fallico concluded.

  

                                                                                                                                                                Famous Italian singer Al Bano among the forum participants

“Humanity opens its doors to presidents who aren’t at war with anyone”

This year’s forum featured the famous Italian singer Al Bano, whose music was popular on dance floors across the USSR in the early 1980s. Al Bano has visited Belarus several times, performed at the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk Festival of Arts, and shared his opinions about Belarus and its leader, “I have the best impressions of Belarus. I have seen new roads, new homes, and a country that is growing and developing. I have vivid memories of Vitebsk, the birthplace of Chagall. It is a fantastic place. Your President was present in the audience there [at Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk]... Thank God, your President is not at war with anyone. Humanity opens its doors to presidents of this kind.”

FACT

The Verona Eurasian Economic Forum was born in Italy’s Verona in 2007. Its goal was to initiate a permanent international dialogue on the economic, social and political development of the greater Eurasian space, on Eurasia’s role, and on the prospects and goals of the global economy within the historical context that, even at that time, foreshadowed structural geopolitical changes. After 14 forums in Verona, a decision was made in 2022, in light of new geopolitical realities, to hold the Verona Forum outside of Italy to enable universal participation without restrictions or discrimination. The forum was held in Baku (Azerbaijan) in 2022, in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) in 2023, and in Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) in 2024.

By Marta Astreiko

Photos by Marta Astreiko