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Russia Pursues Strategic Partnership with Korea

Alexander Dynkin, Director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) of Russia was the guest speaker at the 18th KF Forum, held jointly with the Asia-Pacific Research Center of Hanyang University (October 7). Of note, Director Dynkin called for stepped-up efforts to realize a strategic partnership between Russia and Korea. IMEMO Director Alexander Dynkin

Alexander Dynkin received his doctorate degree in economics in 1976 and joined IMEMO as a professor. He has also served as Economic Advisor to the Minister of Science and Technology Policy and Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister, and is currently a member of the Council of Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship under the Government of the Russian Federation. As a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 2006, Director Dynkin contributes to the formulation of Russia’s economic policy measures for the academic, business and government sectors.
Established in 1956, under the Academy of Sciences of the former Soviet Union, IMEMO is a representative research institution of Russia that specializes in the social, economic, political, and international relations sectors. It conducts joint research with the federal and local governments, news media, and business enterprises, along with providing consultation services for policy experts. Major areas of research include domestic and international issues, in addition to the global economy, economic projections, international relations and politics, and economic and social issues of the United States, Japan and the third world, as well as foreign and military policy.



Situation of Russia
During his presentation entitled “Current Global Turmoil and Russia’s Challenges,” Director Dynkin shared his insights on the current global economic crisis, in terms of its impact on Russia and its political implications for international relations, as well as the evolving bilateral relations between Korea and Russia. He emphasized that the Russian economy was basically on track toward recovery and would be able to maintain stable economic growth.
In addition, Director Dynkin described his outlook for the world’s economic growth in 2009 and stressed the similarity between today’s global economic situation and that of the 1970s. However, he did point out that the current economic situation should not be compared to the Great Depression of the United States in 1929. The global economic crisis in the 1970s had resulted from overheated competition among such powers as the United States, Japan, and Germany. Director Dynkin noted that, from this perspective, one of the major factors behind the current crisis was the competitive rivalry between the United States and Asian countries including China. The financial crisis in the 1970s occurred after the United States decided to abandon the gold-based Bretton Woods system.
Director Dynkin expressed his views about Russia’s domestic and international economic policy-making efforts in regard to international relations. He stated that terrorism, far more dangerous at present than in the 1970s, has contributed to instability of the international political situation. Following his assessment of the world economy, he discussed the overall situation of Russia’s economy. Director Dynkin evaluated the current status of the Russian economy in relation to the market capitalization structure of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, economic growth rate of the United States, Russia, China and the world, the situation of Russia’s credit market, and the interest-rate management of central banks.
He also mentioned the global recovery measures being implemented to overcome the economic downturn, while noting that Russia had adopted measures different from those attempted by other G-20 economies. While emphasizing that the rediscount rate of the Central Bank of Russia was in the double digits, far higher than that of Western countries, he explained that higher interest rates are needed to curb inflation and restrict credit.



Time for Strategic Partnership
Director Dynkin also described notable trends and the outlook for Russia-Korea relations. In particular, he mentioned that Russia and Korea have steadily expanded the scope of their bilateral relations since 2000, along with sharing similar views on issues related to the political and security stability of the Korean Peninsula, and Northeast Asia, and support for the sixparty talks. Russia is also prepared to cooperate with Korea on nuclear issues and related matters. The relations between the two countries are moving toward the level of a strategic partnership, following the recent summit meeting between presidents Lee Myung-bak and Dmitri Medvedev. Director Dynkin stressed the importance of continuing to bolster Russia-Korea relations, along with emphatically calling for the two countries to increase their cooperation in the cultural and tourism sectors.
In a question and answer session, the audience asked him questions about delicate matters involving international relations, as well as the global and Russian economic crisis, to which he responded with forthright sincerity. The questions covered a wide range of issues, including the North Korean nuclear situation, role of the military-industrial complex in the Russian economy, the U.S. missile defense system deployed in Poland, the conflict with Chechnya in the Northern Caucasus, and the speaker’s personal opinions about Marx’s socialism. Director Dynkin emphasized that delicate international issues should be resolved through peaceful measures and an approach based on mutual understanding and respect, along with calling for close cooperation to assure the stability of international relations. As for the conflict with Chechnya, he noted that President Medvedev has been following up on the basic policy direction of former President Putin. He said terrorism in the region has been subsiding and that the overall situation was under control. He also emphasized that Russia’s economic growth and expansion of national wealth made it possible to realize state-level support and privatelevel development of its military-industrial complex, which had experienced a slump after dissolution of the former Soviet Union. He said Russia is clearly a country of capitalism, and he personally sees no possibility of a return to socialism.