For many centuries, one of the most important elements in a country’s ability to successfully expand economically has been its ability to access marine trade routes. The capacity to significantly increase the number of trading partners and to enhance the volume and speed of cargo transportation are two of the obvious benefits of marine trade. A minimum of a modest stretch of sea or ocean coast is also necessary to avoid relying on transit through neighboring states, which helps a country achieve political independence. However, not all nations have direct access to the world’s oceans; at the moment, 44 nations only have land borders and are in some manner…

The first article in the series on the development of transport infrastructure in Mongolia described Mongolia’s projects in the field of railway transport implemented in 2022-2023. This second article provides a brief overview of the projects of Mongolian colleagues in the same field, which are currently being developed and have not yet reached the construction stage. The Mongolian long-term rail construction program up to the year 2030 is included in the country’s overall development programme “Long-Term Vision – 2030”, which, in turn, is a more detailed and structured part of the “Long-Term Vision – 2050” program. As part of the 2030 program (the projects described in the previous…

On 17 October, the 3^rd Forum was held in Beijing, where the results of the ten-year implementation of the global Belt and Road Initiative project were summed up, and ways of its further development were outlined. The special significance of this grandiose international event was given by the large-scale representation of other states at it. This allowed the countries to discuss some important aspects of the difficult international situation, as well as bilateral relations. As, however, it has been happening in recent years at other international venues. In this regard, the three-hour meeting of the Presidents of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation…

It could be argued with great confidence that the BRICS economic alliance is increasingly gaining prestige on the world stage and more and more countries want to become its members, participating in the creation of a new world order based on multilateralism. At the same time, this alliance is increasingly expanding its activities, spreading it to all continents and areas of international finance. There have been reports that the BRICS is considering creating a new global payment system for international trade, which would be an alternative to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT)…

The ever-expanding list of Western sanctions on Russia has an unexpected and less-than-desirable effect. Central Asian countries are experiencing unheard-of growth due to Russian businesses and investors moving to the region. A brief look at Tajikistan’s 7.5% GDP growth, Uzbekistan’s predicted 6.5%, Kazakhstan at 5%, followed by Kyrgyzstan with 4.6%, and the brilliant economic warfare waged by the West is a losing proposition. North Americans and Europeans are the only people being hurt by the proxy war in Ukraine and its economic facets…

In the annals of financial history, few narratives are as captivating as the ascent of the United States Dollar. Since the seminal Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944, the greenback has wielded unparalleled influence, staking its claim as the world’s de facto currency. Anchored to the universally accepted Gold Standard and complemented by the establishment of international financial institutions like the IMF and the IBRD (now the World Bank), both generously funded in dollars for the development of emerging nations, the USD embarked on an unparalleled journey. Concurrently, co-operation between the United States and oil-rich…

Apparently, financial crises do not occur overnight, because they are preceded by whole series of events and unsuccessful decisions related to financial market conditions, contradictions of internal financial policy and external dictate of world currencies, mistakes made by one’s own government, and any number of other factors. In this regard, financial experts are able to write entire books (treatises) with explanations of the causes leading to any given financial crisis. However, politicians often ignore the scientific…

The test run of Russian, Mongolian and Chinese transport companies took place on 22^nd of September, 2023 along the AH4 international highway, which connects Novosibirsk with the Pakistani city of Karachi through the territory of Mongolia and China. The length of the highway is more than 6,000 kilometers. In November 2022, the Mongolian section of the highway was brought into use. This run was held in order to identify the degree of serviceability of this way, on the roads of which transit traffic…

Recently, the American media reported that a biography of Senator Mitt Romney, who has just announced his resignation, is being prepared for publication. A New York Times columnist read an excerpt from the book and “was struck by the depth of the senator’s contempt and disdain for much of the Republican Party, including many of his colleagues in the Senate.” He condemned their vanity, their venality and cowardice: he reserved particularly harsh words for the many senators “who would do or say anything for political power and influence.”…

The recent trip to Russia by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received a lot of media attention ahead of it. One thing was clear – Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would meet, whether it be in Turkey, Russia, or some other country such as India. What caused the Turkish leader to act in such haste? Of course, the goal of this meeting was not to thank Russia for its assistance during his most recent contentious presidential campaign. It is also hardly the topic of Syrian talks, which have not yet established a meeting place…

After months of political negotiations and four days of voting, Iraq’s parliament has finally approved the largest budget in the country’s history. The draft bill for the 2023 document was initially approved by the cabinet and received the green light from the legislature in June 2023. Experts believe that the planning and swift approval of this financial plan represents a telling achievement of the country’s current administration. The adopted budget amounts to a staggering 198.91 trillion Iraqi dinars, equivalent to US $153 billion. However, it has a deficit of 64.36 trillion dinars. Projected oil revenues are estimated at 117.25 trillion dinars…

The Western propaganda of ‘isolating’ Russia aside, there is little gainsaying that Russia’s global clout has increased manifold in the wake of its military conflict with Ukraine and its NATO allies. For the West, Russia’s exit from Europe (e.g., the European energy market) due to sanctions strangely meant ‘the end’ of the Russian economy, politics, and military strength and ‘the ultimate victory’ of the West. Surely, this was a gross miscalculation, as the West never possibly imagined a fundamental – and such a rapid – Russian economic relocation from the Global North to the Global South…