Business programme

Eurasian integration serves as an integral component of the economic model adopted by the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), providing alignment, stabilization, and accelerated development trajectories. The priorities initially set forth in the Eurasian integration project remain as relevant today as ever. In the ever-changing landscape of the global economy, collaborative efforts aimed at comprehensive modernization, cooperation, and enhancing the competitiveness of national economies within a regional context offer an undeniable competitive advantage. As we approach the completion of the foundational stage of the Union's formation by 2025, it becomes imperative to devise new strategies and tools to achieve the objectives of Eurasian integration, while charting the course of integration for the medium term. The formation of a self-sufficient Eurasian ecosystem is of paramount importance. This ecosystem should be rooted in technological sovereignty, a unified scientific and innovation system, as well as an independent financial framework. This new quality of Eurasian integration necessitates a harmonious fusion of the potential inherent in states, entrepreneurs, scientists, and the younger generation, all geared towards creating a conducive and timely environment for life and development. Embracing this paradigm has the potential to position the Eurasian Economic Union as a true centre of gravity and a cornerstone of the emerging world order in Greater Eurasia. What are the priorities of innovative and "human-centric" integration in the EAEU? How to establish the necessary conditions and mechanisms to foster technological sovereignty among the EAEU member states? How can we forge a fairer model for the international division of labour, with the active participation of EAEU countries? Amid eroding confidence in the world's reserve currencies, how can the member states construct an independent framework for mutual settlements and payments with stable international partners? What are the most effective tools for establishing the EAEU's own financial system? What steps should be taken to create a unified scientific and innovation space within the EAEU? How can we overcome the hurdles hindering the development of intellectual capital and create a "barrier-free environment" for its growth? Can Eurasian integration serve as the foundation for the national ideas of member states and contribute to the formation of a shared Eurasian identity? Will the allure of the "Eurasian idea" attract foreign partners seeking collaboration?

Moderator
Timofei Bordachev, Director, Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Programme Director, The Valdai Discussion Club

Timofei Bordachev

Director, Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Programme Director, The Valdai Discussion Club

Programme Director (Eurasian programme), Valdai Club Foundation, Director of Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies (CCEIS) in the School of World Economics and International Affairs of the National Research University – Higher School of Economics (HSE); supervisor of studies of the «European studies» master programme; PhD in political science.
Research interests: Russian new strategy in Asia, Russia – EU relations, relations between government and business in Europe, European and international security, Eurasian affairs.
Selected publications include books: New Strategic Union. Russia and Europe in the Face of Challenges of the XXI Century: Opportunities of a Big Deal (2009); Limits of Europeanization. Russia and European Union in 1991–2007: Theory and Practice of the Relations (2007); New Interventionism and Modern Peace-Building (1998) and recent articles Bordachev T. V. Eurasian Russia in the 21st century, in: Russia's "pivot" to Eurasia. L. : European Council on Foreign Relations, 2014. Ch. 2. P. 25-31., Bordachev T. V. Eurasian Russia in the twenty-first century, in: Russia's "pivot" to Eurasia. L. : European Council on Foreign Relations, 2014. P. 25-31., Bordachev T. V. Skriba A. Russia’s Eurasian Integration Policies, in: The Geopolitics of Eurasian Economic Integration. L.: London School of Economics and Political Science, 2014. Ch. 2. P. 16-22., Kanaev E. A., Bordachev T. V. Russia’s New Strategy in Asia. // Russia in Global Affairs. 2014. Vol. 12. No. 3. P. 128-138.
Co-author of several Valdai International Discussion Club reports, numerous analytical reports for public authorities of the Russian Federation on the internal development of the European Union and Russia – EU relations, articles in Russian and foreign media.

Panellists
Igor Drozdov, Chairman of the Board, Skolkovo Foundation
Viktor Evtukhov, State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation
Mikhail Kovalchuk, President, National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute"
Mikhail Myasnikovich, Chairman of the Board, Eurasian Economic Commission
Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation
Olga Polyakova, Deputy Governor, The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)
Aleksey Raikevich, General Director, GLONASS
Alexander Shokhin, President, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

Igor Drozdov

Chairman of the Board, Skolkovo Foundation

Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1977.
In 1999 graduated cum laude from the law faculty of St. Petersburg State University. Has PhD in law.
Between 2004 and 2005 he worked as an advisor to the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation.
From 2005 headed the secretariat of the Chairman of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation.
2006-2010 - chief of staff/administrator of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation.
In December 2010 he was appointed director of legal issues of the Skolkovo Foundation, and in November 2011, he was in addition appointed a vice president of the foundation. In September 2012, he became senior vice president for legal and administrative issues.
Member of the council on intellectual property of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia. Member of the expert council of the Russian government.
Associate professor at the civil law faculty of St. Petersburg State University. Has authored more than 30 studies of civil law issues.
Member of the board of the Association of Lawyers of Russia.
Has received state awards including the gratitude of the Russian President.
Chairman of the Board of the Skolkovo Foundation since June 14, 2016.

Viktor Evtukhov

State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation

Education:
1993 – Leningrad Finance and Economics Institute with a major in economic cybernetics.
2002 – Saint Petersburg State University, Faculty of Law.
2004 – Master’s degree from Saint Petersburg State University, Faculty of International Relations.
2003 – Defended his post-graduate dissertation and granted the degree of candidate of economic sciences.
2008 – International Management Institute of St Petersburg (IMISP) under the Masters of Business Administration programme.
Professional experience:
1998 – Elected deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg (second convocation) for the 33rd Electoral District (Moskovsky District) and was twice re-elected in 2002 and 2007.
2009 – Appointed member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation – Representative in the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from the Government of St. Petersburg; representative of Saint Petersburg State University in the government and administrative bodies of the Russian Federation.
2011 – Appointed Deputy Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation.
2012 – Appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
2014 – Appointed State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation under an order of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Mikhail Kovalchuk

President, National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute"

Mikhail Myasnikovich

Chairman of the Board, Eurasian Economic Commission

He was born on May 6, 1950 in the village of Novy Snov, Nesvizh District, Minsk Region.

He graduated from Snovskaya secondary school with a silver medal in 1967, from Brest Engineering and Construction Institute in 1972, and from Minsk Communist Party Higher School in 1989.

In 1972, he began his career as an engineer at Minskproekt State Design Institute.

From 1972 to 1973 he served in the Soviet army.

From 1973 to 1983 he held engineering and senior management positions in public utilities of the city of Minsk.

From 1983 to 1986 he was Chairman of Soviet District Executive Committee of the Council of People's Deputies of the city of Minsk, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of Minsk City Council of People's Deputies, Secretary of Minsk City Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus.

From 1986 to 1990 he served as Minister of Housing and Public Utilities of the BSSR.

From 1990 to 1995 he was Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the BSSR - Chairman of the State Committee for Economy and Planning of the BSSR, First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus.

In 1994, he was appointed as a member of the Presidium of the Interstate Economic Committee of the Economic Union (CIS).

From 1995 to 2001 he was Head of Presidential Executive Office of the Republic of Belarus.

From 2001 to 2010 he served as Chairman of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (President, since 2004 – Chairman of the Presidium).

From 2003 to 2012 he was Chairman of the Subcommittee for State Awards of the Republic of Belarus in the field of science and technology.

Since 2015 he was Chairman of the Committee for State Awards of the Republic of Belarus.

From 2010 to 2014 he served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus.

From 2015 to 2019 he co-chaired the Forums of Regions of Belarus and Russia held annually by the Council of the Republican National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

In 2014 he took part in the UN Climate Summit, as well as in the first Belarusian-American Investment Forum, which were both held in New York.

From 2015 to 2019 he was Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus of the fifth (2015-2016) and sixth (2016-2019) convocations, Chairman of the Council for Interaction of Local Self-Government Bodies under the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus (2015-2019).

He was Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BelAZ Open Joint-Stock Company.

He has three Certificates of Gratitude from the President of the Republic of Belarus. He was invested with the following awards: the Order "Badge of Honor" (1981), the Order of the Fatherland of the 3rd class (2000), the Order of Friendship (Russian Federation) (2009), the Order of Friendship (People's Republic of China) (2010), the Order of the Belarusian Orthodox Church of St. Cyril of Turov of the 1st class (2010), anniversary medals, the Badge "Gold Medal of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus "For a Major Contribution to the Development of Science"" (2014), D. Cantemir Medal of the National Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the Big Gold Medal of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Certificates of Honor of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus and the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, V.M. Ignatovsky Badge of Honor of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (2018). He is Honorary Citizen of the town of Nesvizh (2015).

He is Doctor of Economics (1998), Professor (2003), and Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (2009). He is also Doctor Honoris Causa of St. Petersburg State University of Economics (2008) and Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (2011), Professor Emeritus of Brest State Technical University (2013), and Professor Emeritus of Belarusian State University (2017). He is the author of monographs, scientific papers and publications in the field of economics, international integration and state-building. He has trained three Candidates of Science.

He is married. He has a daughter and a son, and four grandchildren.

Alexey Overchuk

Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

Born 9 December 1964 in Korostyshev, Zhitomir Region, Ukraine.

1986: Graduated from the Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy with a degree in Economic Cybernetics. PHD in Economics.

1986–1993: Senior laboratory technician at the Economic Cybernetics Department, junior research fellow, research fellow, senior research fellow at the laboratory for economic mechanism improvement at the Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy.

1993–1998: Chief specialist, deputy head of the International Cooperation Department of the Russian State Committee on Land Resources and Land Management.

April–July 1998: Head of the Department of State Registration of Real Estate Rights at the Russian State Land Committee.

July–December 1998: Head of the Information and Analysis Department at the Russian Ministry of Land Policy, Construction, Housing and Utilities.

1998–1999: Head of the Information and Analysis Department at the Russian State Land Committee.

1999–2000: Head of the Information and Analysis Department at the Russian Land Policy Committee.

August 2000: Appointed deputy head of the Russian Federal Cadastre Service.

April 2004: Acting deputy head, July 2004: Deputy head of the Federal Real Estate Cadastre Agency.

2007–2008: Deputy head of the Federal Agency on Special Economic Zones Management.

2008–2010: Held senior positions at UFG Asset Management Group.

2010: Advisor to the head of the Federal Taxation Service.

2011: Appointed deputy head of the Federal Taxation Service.

21 January 2020: Appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Russia by a Presidential Executive Order.

Olga Polyakova

Deputy Governor, The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)

Born in 1970 in Moscow.
Education
1995: Graduated from Ordzhonikidze State Academy of Management, economist.
Awarded with honorary diplomas of the Russian Federation Government and Bank of Russia, decoration ‘For Honourable Service at the Bank of Russia’, and other official awards.
1988–2000: held various positions at state and commercial banks.
From 2000 has been working at the Bank of Russia.
2005–2009: Adviser to the Bank of Russia Chief Auditor.
In 2009 was appointed deputy director of the Internal Auditing Department of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
2011–2014: Director of the Internal Auditing Department of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
From December 2014: Head of the Bank of Russia Main Branch for the Central Federal District.
From December 16, 2016: Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia.
In the banking system: 28 years, of which 17 years at the Bank of Russia.
Member of the Bank of Russia Board of Directors (appointed on 2 December 2016).

Aleksey Raikevich

General Director, GLONASS

Born December 20, 1981 in Moscow.
In 2005 he graduated from the Russian Foreign Trade Academy of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation with a degree in International Economics, in 2019 he got an MBA at London Business School.
In 2006, he was the head of asset management at Troika Dialog Management Company.
2007–2009 – Senior Manager of the Department of Investment Banking Services at OTKRITIE Financial Corporation.
2009–2014 – Investment director at JSC RUSNANO.
2015–2022 – Investment director at JSFC Sistema.
In November 2022, he was appointed General Director of JSC GLONASS.

Alexander Shokhin

President, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

Alexander N. Shokhin was born 25 December, 1951.
Graduated from the Moscow State University in 1974.
Doctor of Economics, Professor.
Twice, in 1991-1994 and in 1998, Mr. Shokhin held the post of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
In 1991-1994 he also held positions of Minister of Labor, Minister of Economics, Chairman of the Russian Agency for International Cooperation and Development.
From 1994 to 2002 – Deputy of the State Duma, with the posts of First Vice Chairman of the State Duma, leader of the Duma party bloc 'Our Home is Russia', Head of the Duma Committee on Credit Institutions and Capital Markets.
Since 1995 - President of the National Research University – Higher School of Economics.
From 2002 to 2006 – Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Investment Group "Renaissance Capital".
From 2005 to 2009 – member of the RF Public Chamber.
Since 2005 – President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. Mr. Shokhin is a member of several deliberative bodies under the Russian President and Government. He is also an independent director on the Boards of several companies, including ALROSA, Russian Railways, TMK and others.

Front row participant
Levon Hovhannisyan, General Director, Fund Investment Support Centre Enterprise Armenia

Levon Hovhannisyan

General Director, Fund Investment Support Centre Enterprise Armenia