The senator talked about the need for new mechanisms and modalities to enable the research community to deliver on its social mission.
First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Andrei Denisov took part in a session the 8th Eastern Economic Forum titled Scientific Diplomacy in Asia: Constructive Cooperation.
Event participants discussed the forms, methods and channels of interaction to increase the effectiveness of Russia-Asia cooperation, including science diplomacy as a form of public diplomacy, within international research communities, aimed at solving problems that are common for the whole of humanity.
In his remarks, Andrei Denisov noted the importance of direct communication between members of the research community as contacts declined during the pandemic and are now recovering too slowly. The parliamentarian called for stepping up efforts to restore contacts, primarily the Asian region.
The senator went on to emphasise that science diplomacy has deep-rooted traditions and professional associations of researchers have played a significant role in public processes. “The research community is seeking new mechanisms and forms of public involvement these days. It is possible that they will be created primarily within regional frameworks, free of politicisation, pressure and division into friends and foes,” Andrei Denisov pointed out.
According to the senator, it is important to explore interaction formats for researchers in their professional and public capacities in the frameworks of BRICS and the SCO.
The discussion was joined by Xing Guangcheng, Director of the Institute for Border Studies of China at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Yury Kulchin, Director of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vitaly Naumkin, Research Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Sergei Sanakoyev, President of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Research and Development Prospects, and Yevgeny Rusetsky, Director of the Asia-Pacific Branch of the International Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
Viktor Larin, Deputy Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Far Eastern Branch, and Mikhail Kuznetsov, Director of the Eastern Centre for State Planning, moderated the event.