Russia’s Valdai Discussion Club broadcast a seminar on Aug. 4th on the surprising topic of “U.S.A.-Latin America-Russia: An Agenda for Constructive Cooperation in the Post-COVID-19 Era.” The event reveals the potential that exists to break free of the trap of geopolitics, in the face of global calamity.
Everything about the seminar was novel, starting with the combination of institutions which organized it or were represented on the panel. Russia’s Embassy in Guatemala took the lead in organizing the seminar jointly with the American Chamber of Commerce (“AmCham”) in Russia, the Washington, D.C.-based U.S.-Russia Business Council (USRBC) the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA), and the Regional Coordinator for Economic and Social Research of Argentina (CRIES), with the support of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
AmCham President Alexis Rodzianko chaired the seminar. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov led off the speakers, followed by Parlacen’s Chairwoman, SIECA’s Secretary General, USRBC’s CEO, the Valdai Club’s Director of Programs, the head of the Eurasian Studies group of Argentina’s Council of Foreign Relations (CARI), and UNCTAD’s Chief Economist.
The Valdai Club announced that it was hoped that the conference might determine areas where Russia, the United States and the countries of Ibero-America could form a positive agenda for multilateral cooperation. Several speakers stated that they had not considered the topic before, but the discussion was clearly useful to all involved. USRBC CEO Dan Russell called it “a groundbreaking event,” because it posed the question of the relationships between North and South America, Russia and Eurasia more broadly.
The depth of the crisis facing the global economic system was raised, but no one had a workable bold plan of action. Particular areas of economic cooperation were put on the table. SIECA Secretary General Enrique Redondo, for example, stated Central America’s interest in developing trade relations with the Eurasian Union (EAEU). Russell told him that in his experience, the Eurasian Economic Commission is very open to dialogue and business, and CARI’s Lila Roldan Vazquez spoke of the ties which South American countries are developing with the EAU. Both Russell and Rodzianko spoke of the importance of strong U.S.-Russian business ties.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was the one person who repeatedly identified geopolitics as the biggest threat. Russia will not tell our partners who they can be friends with and who not, he emphasized. To questions as to how Russian-U.S. cooperation might counter China in Ibero-America, Ryabkov was adamant: “We are in no geopolitical game” in this triangular relationship between Latin America and the other two; we do not want to be a balancing factor or play our cards for this or that side in the quite-problematic U.S.-China relations. Russia’s economic presence in the region is not comparable to that of China or the U.S. What Russia wants is to increase our “win-win” economic relations with the Latin American countries and their regional institutions, in mutually-beneficial cooperation.
