While international relations were organized around two poles of power (East and West) after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the illusion of the end of the Cold War in 1991, the emergence of new centers of power in the Global South changes the situation. It is in this spirit that the prestigious think tank that we agree to call in other words “the Valdaï discussion club ”, based in Moscow, is organizing its second Russian-African conference (July 24, 2024 in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania), one year after the second Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg (here).

The transition to the use of national currencies in trade and economic cooperation and the rejection of the dollar’s dominance in international trade are becoming more common in the vast expanses of modern Asia. What contributed to this process, and why is de-dollarisation attractive for national economies?

According to Chinese experts, relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation will not only maintain the stability that characterizes them, but more than that – will also continue the expected growth. This fact is not only of crucial importance for bilateral relations between Moscow and Beijing, but at the same time plays a major role at the global level – within the framework of mutual complementarity and the strengthening of the multipolar world order.

With the final accession of Belarus to the SCO, Mongolia found itself in the curious position of remaining one of the organisation’s two observers, and the only one whose high-level representatives attended the July 2024 summit in Astana. Nevertheless, Mongolia’s President and Foreign Minister have again spoken of preserving and developing the “proactive observer” tradition.

The recent elections in different parts of the world are deciding factors in shaping the future of the globe. Various South Asian countries also held general elections during the first half of 2024. Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India – some of the SAARC members, also held general elections during this time, while elections in Sri Lanka are also likely to be held before October this year. These general elections in the SAARC countries will not only decide the future trajectories of these countries but will also be the pivotal determinants of the fate of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s trip to New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia was an important element in the complex “game” unfolding in the Indo-Pacific region, involving all the world’s leading powers. It took place in the second half of June.

The scientific conference “Challenges and Threats to the Algerian State and Society: History and Modernity”, held recently at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IOS), brought together specialists representing academic institutions and leading universities in Russia. The agenda included a wide range of topics from Algeria’s energy strategy and its foreign policy to issues of cultural and national identification of society and cooperation between Moscow and Algeria.

Relations between Pakistan and Russia have been improving for the previous few years. Historically, both countries have observed numerous fluctuations in their bilateral relations. The leaders of the two nations met at the 24^th SCO Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. Despite geopolitical impediments, both leaders demonstrated their desire to promote bilateral relations between the two sides.

The consequences of the visit of the Russian leader to North Korea and the documents signed there are so significant that they can propel the trend of global turbulence. How have Seoul, Beijing and Washington reacted to such a rapprochement between Moscow and Pyongyang and what will be Moscow’s response to the steps taken by Seoul and its allies?

The first phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has been completed and the project has entered into its second phase. This phase provides great opportunities for Pakistan, China, Africa, the Gulf States, and the Central Asian countries to increase their mutual trade and connect with the rest of the world in a much more secure and efficient way, decreasing their trade cost and increasing security.

The head of the Indian government paid a two-day visit to Russia, during which the leaders of the two countries held purposeful talks, first at the residence of the Russian leader Novo-Ogarevo and then in the Kremlin. They discussed economic relations between the two countries, the opening of a new Indian consulate in Russia and issues related to the conflict in Ukraine. 15 documents and a number of memoranda were signed. In addition, Putin and Modi visited the Rosatom pavilion at VDNKh together.

The Saudi decision not to renew the 50-year-old petrodollar system is both a symptom of the gradual erosion of the US-led and US-centred global financial order and indicates the imminent arrival of alternative systems of financial transactions in currencies other than the USD. This is, at one and the same time, both a collapse of the existing world order and the establishment of a new, alternative, multipolar world order.