The message reads, in part:
“Your expert forum, which continues the best traditions of intellectual exploration and a mutually respectful and free exchange of opinions, occupies a special place in the calendar of authoritative international conferences. Yevgeny Primakov, after whom the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), a leading Russian analytical centre, is named, had always attached great significance to this issue.
The choice of the 2021 Primakov Readings theme, namely, Emerging World Order: New Challenges, is also quite logical. It is obvious that the number of challenges continues to increase over time, and many of them present a real threat to international stability and security, and to the lives and well-being of people in all parts of the world.
The coronavirus pandemic, which has already claimed over 3.5 million lives, has joined the list of such challenges as the degradation of arms control mechanisms, the activities of terrorist groups, more active cybercrime and the escalation of regional conflicts. The serious social and economic impacts of the pandemic can be felt everywhere. The struggle against this extremely dangerous infection calls for pooling the efforts of the entire international community, as well as honest and equitable cooperation. Unfortunately, however, far from everyone is ready for this.
Although it is still too early to say that the coronavirus has been defeated, it is now important to think about specific lessons that should be learned from this crisis, and how we must act in the event of similar situations in the future. I hope that the participants in the Primakov Readings will pay the closest attention to these and other topical issues of the regional and global agenda.”