Sanctions aim to restrain our economic development, but objective processes are inevitably shifting the center of economic growth from the West to the East and towards the global South. This was stated by Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, at the plenary session of the XV International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum 2024," during the discussion on "Financial and Logistics Infrastructure of Russia and the OIC Countries."
He recalled that Russia has recently faced between 16,000 to 18,000 restrictive measures, adopted in circumvention of the UN Security Council.
"Sanctions are designed to restrain our economic development. But objective processes are inevitably taking place in the world, the center of economic growth is shifting from the West to the East and towards the global South, towards the world's majority countries. Russia occupies a unique geographical position in the north of Eurasia and should use this advantage to effectively solve economic problems despite the sanctions," he said.
Currently, several infrastructure projects are being implemented, including the North-South corridor. There is close cooperation in this direction with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan in the development of rail and road transportation.
"We aim to provide transportation and logistical links across greater Eurasia. This will enable our producers to access the markets of the global South more effectively. The EAEU, which unites five countries, is also working in this direction. An important area of work is the conclusion of free trade agreements. Last year, a relevant agreement was signed with Iran, benefiting both the Islamic Republic and the EAEU countries. Negotiations are also underway to establish free trade zones with a number of Islamic countries. Thus, we help each other to develop new markets," Overchuk noted.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"