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Wednesday 23 March 2022

Economic, Socio-Political, and Ethno-Confessional Issues of African-Asian Countries

 
The conference "Economic, Socio-Political, and Ethno-Confessional Issues of African-Asian Countries was held on the 21st-23rd of March, 2022 at the Institute of Oriental Studies.

At the event the most topical issue was analyzed: the impact of the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian conflict on the world food market.

The central place at the round table “Economic and Socio-Political Issues of Asian and African Countries” (March the 21st, 22nd) was taken by the section “New Technologies and Countries of Asia and Africa". It was attended by more than 30 speakers. The reports were devoted to these blocks: digital technologies issues, digital economy, including the activities of major digital platforms of the West and the East, the digital economy of Africa and China's participation in its development, the prospects of cryptocurrency mining in Iran, the digital economy in Central Asia, websites analysis of Chinese embassies in Africa, the use of ICT in health care in India, the ICT sector in Australia. The reports analyzed such theoretical issues as Solow paradox, Thucydides trap, and technological development contradictions of the developing countries.

The new technologies problems in the energy sphere were also discussed, in particular, such issues as the methanol role as fuel in the energy transition, green technology in the Republic of Korea, renewable energy in Turkey, China's “smart” ports and “green” ships, and the prospects for global hydrogen market forming.

A number of reports were devoted to the new technologies drawbacks in specific industries: the mining industry of Asian countries, fintech development problems.

Several reports analyzed the new technologies drawbacks in specific countries and regions: the Far Eastern center of the world economy, China's position in the global competition in high technology sphere, legal regulation of AI in China and innovation policy of the Republic of Korea, the role of digital technology in relations Russia and Papua - New Guinea, the technological competition of Quad and China in the South Pacific, the issues of science, new technologies and technical education in Nigeria.

Such topics as development of distance learning, robotics, and the online games market in Asian countries attracted the young researchers’ attention.

The economic, social, and political issues of Asian and African countries in the context of globalization: drawbacks of Myanmar and the Philippines, Oceania, the development of Islamic finance in Kyrgyzstan were also discussed. The participants also touched on the pandemic issue: its impact on tourism in Central Asia, and the pandemic specifics in Pakistan, taking into account ethno-confessional and cultural factors.

As for political issues, the topic of Kurd autonomy in Iraq, prospects of Libyan conflict escalation, and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan were discussed.

On March the 23rd a roundtable on “Ethno-Confessional Issues in the Modern World” was held. In addition to the speakers, staff from other divisions of the Institute for Oriental Studies (the Russian Academy of Sciences) were present and took part in the debates.

From the very beginning the discussion focused on the reactions of Middle Eastern countries to the events in the Ukraine and the Russian special operations. The second topic aroused lively interest. It was on the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean around the gas production prospects on the Lebanese shelf. The absence of clear borders with Israel complicates the prospects of this field development.  

Another security issue of the Eastern Mediterranean is the conflict of Turkey and Greece. The discovery of large oil and gas fields on the shelf has given impetus to tensions between these countries. Turkey signed an agreement with the Libyan government on the shelf joint exploitation, which implies Turkey's access to the water area. This territory is considered an economic zone of Greece. In the regional security context, the possible future of the Montreux Convention in connection with Istanbul Canal construction was considered.

The papers block on the religious factor influence on the foreign and domestic policy of the Asian countries considered the issue of nationalistic tendencies strengthening of Hinduism in the education sphere in India. Then, the Sunni-Shia antagonism during the pandemic was discussed, as well as confessional aspects of the relationship between Iraq and Syria in the early 20th century. The measures taken by Turkey with respect to the migration flow from Central Asia were presented. The roundtable participants discussed the situation of Christians in the contemporary Iran, as well as the reforms results of f I. Khan government, the head of Pakistan's coalition government since 2018.

Three presentations focused the issues in Southeast Asia. Among them were the issues of gender equality in Singapore, the current situation of Aboriginal Australians, and the Iran and Saudi Arabia relations with the Southeast Asia states (Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei).

In the traditional for the event section “The East in the West”, a report on the socio-economic situation of Muslims in Britain was presented, the scale of Vietnamese emigration in the 21st century, and the role of natives of Algeria in French musical culture.