Established in 2004, the Valdai International Discussion Club has emerged as an internationally recognised platform for the world's leading experts to interact with Russian scholars, politicians and government representatives. Today, the club focuses on the research of global political and economic processes. Over the years, more than 1,000 experts from 84 countries have taken part in Valdai Club events.
This year, on the first day of the conference, the annual Valdai report, A World Without Superpowers, was presented. The underlying idea of the report, proposed by the Valdai Club research team, suggests that the very concept of a superpower will eventually become a thing of the past.
As a major international intellectual platform in Russia, the Valdai Club has always tried to identify the root causes of what is happening in the world. Today, the importance of the Valdai Club’s annual meetings has only increased.
In a situation where the global information landscape has turned into an arena of confrontation, the role of expert discussion that goes beyond the information war is greater than ever. This year, forum organisers also tried to provide answers to its foreign participants about the causes and consequences of the events taking place in Russian-Ukrainian relations.
This year's Valdai Club meeting will be attended by 111 experts, politicians, diplomats and economists from 41 countries. The new geopolitical situation and changes in Russia's partnership system have affected the geographical representation of the invitees to the 2022 edition of the event. The Middle East and North Africa, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the CIS are much more widely represented this year. However, representatives of several Western countries are also taking part in the meeting.
Vladimir Putin's meetings with these experts have become a tradition since the club's inception. The plenary session, including the President’s address, has become the culmination of each annual meeting. The event will also include a discussion moderated by Fyodor Lukyanov.