VERONA, 23 October (BelTA) - Europe resembles a mean old lady as it imposes sanctions against different countries,, former Prime Minister of Italy Massimo d'Alema said at the 13th Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona, Italy on 23 October, BelTA has learned.
Massimo d'Alema stressed that he is against the New Cold War, and has been doing his best to contribute to a more balanced world built on dialogue and cooperation. “There is no doubt that I am not a supporter of sanctions. On the contrary, I believe that the policy of sanctions is counterproductive. I am concerned about the western world, which seems to be hostile to the rest of the world. It is hostile towards Russia, towards the Islamic world. Sanctions have been imposed against Iran, China and other countries. It feels like Europe (and this is an aging continent) is going through some kind of a mean old age in its dealings with the rest of the world, and I do not like it. I am a man who is aging peacefully, and I would like to see the West growing old without anger at everyone and everything,” Massimo d'Alema said.
Despite the pandemic, the forum in Verona has brought together representatives of government authorities, top managers of large companies, political and public figures, diplomats, experts, and journalists from Europe and Asia. This year, the organizers reduced the number of participants from 1,500 to 500, some of them joined the forum online. The speakers include former Italian Prime Ministers Romano Prodi and Massimo D'Alema, State Secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Grigory Rapota, Member of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Andrei Slepnev, Secretary General of the Central European Initiative Roberto Antonione, Russian Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko, Italian Minister of Health Roberto Speranza, Head of the Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare Anna Popova, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Rosneft President and CEO Igor Sechin, Gazprom Export General Director Elena Burmistrova, Chairman of the Board of Skolkovo Foundation Victor Vekselberg, Chairman and CEO of the French concert Total Patrick Pouyanne, and many others.
The general topic of the discussion is a new reality for the global economy – from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The participants are set to discuss economic recovery models, the future of the oil industry and the development of the gas industry in the new economic reality. The participants of the forum will discuss prerequisites for a new geopolitical and socioeconomic order amid the pandemic and the structural economic crisis. Some sessions will focus on overcoming social inequality and poverty as the society evolves, rethinking global healthcare systems in the Covid-19 era, and the dialogue between Europe and Eurasia. A brand new topic for the forum is genetics and genome research and their contribution to medicine, agriculture, the manufacturing and energy industries.
The organizers of the Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona are the non-profit organization Conoscere Eurasia, the Roscongress Foundation, and the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum. BelTA is an information partner of the forum in Verona.
