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Business Recorder
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Pakistan, Russia take holistic stock of bilateral ties
ISLAMABAD: The Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM), Syed Tariq Fatemi, undertook a visit to the Russian Federation from June 02-04, 2025. After meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister, the SAPM called on Sergey Tsivilev, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation and Co-Chair of the Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC). Both sides took a holistic stock of bilateral relations, identifying key areas of trade, energy, connectivity, new Steel Mills, cybersecurity, etc for future cooperation. The SAPM emphasised on the prospects of further development of energy cooperation between Pakistan and Russia. In addition, he briefed Tsivilev on the recent developments in South Asia, while lauding Russia's role in de-escalating tensions. Tsivilev expressed satisfaction on the outcomes of the ninth Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) held in Moscow in 2024 and hoped for productive next IGC in Pakistan this year, adding that Pakistan has the potential to become a 'transit hub'. Later, the SAPM called on Yury Ushakov, Senior Aide to the President on Foreign Policy Issues. During the meeting, the SAPM briefed him on the recent escalation in the South Asia and outlined Pakistan's position vis-à-vis India's aggressive actions, especially unilaterally holding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance. Besides these meetings, the SAPM gave two interviews to the leading Russian TV networks, expressing his candid views on the increasingly positive trends in Pakistan-Russia relations and recent escalation between Pakistan and India. He also had an extensive exchange of views with a group of academics and journalists from prominent print and electronic media. Furthermore, the SAPM was hosted by Valdai Discussion Club, a prestigious think-tank in Moscow, for a talk on 4th June, on the recent developments in South Asia and Pakistan-Russia relations. Overall, the visit of the SAPM was highly successful, with several important official engagements and candid exchanges with parliamentarians, a think tank, several academics and journalists. It paved the way to explicitly share Pakistan's perspective on the recent situation and other important issues, such as IWT to the Russian side. There was widespread appreciation for the manner in which Pakistan was enhancing its relations with Russia, in important areas of trade, investment, energy and connectivity routes. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Malay Mail
05-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
The great game of artificial intelligence — Jonathan Yen
MAY 5 — As the world remains embroiled in the US-China trade spat, an interesting live broadcast took place in Moscow recently. At the 'Youth Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club's New Generation Project', a peculiar topic caught my attention — a discussion on artificial intelligence and technology. Contrary to popular view, AI is not viewed with the same rose-coloured lenses by Generation Z, like myself. An AI-driven future is not one that provides us with the comfort of job security as well as our privacy. Thus, when a topic like this is being discussed in a country like Russia, it arguably deserves closer attention. The Great Game In order to truly appreciate the emergence of new superpower competition in the 21st century, we need to go back to the 'Great Game', which marked the rivalry between the 19th-century British and Russian empires and their influence over Central Asia then. Today, AI could become a new battleground for influence, raising the collateral consequences of escalating geopolitical tension between the US and China. As each side seeks to improve and commercialise its AI models, it will have to rely on other nations to supply the unique data and resources required to effectively turn them into 'digital colonies'. In other words, we are witnessing a new form of geopolitical influence: an AI-driven 'metropolisation' of our societies and economies. While it is understandable that many countries are keen to jump on the AI bandwagon, it could come at the cost of their national sovereignty. In the past, physical land and resources were prized possessions. Today, by adopting foreign AI models and regulations, as well as selling off land and resources for foreign-built data centres, are they not, in essence, surrendering their sovereignty? According to the symposium mentioned above, this could also be viewed as a 'soft form' of colonisation. There is no doubt that the US and China currently lack mutual trust. Yet, our future and economic well-being are deeply intertwined with these competing superpowers. In their race for dominance, it will be hard for them to resist using AI to tighten their grip on future generations as a form of control. AI could become a new battleground for influence, raising the collateral consequences of escalating geopolitical tension between the US and China. — Reuters pic AI colonisation Colonisation can be defined as a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples for the purpose of cultivation, exploitation, trade and in some cases, settlement. What is AI colonisation? The panelists noted that AI development has become a fiercely competitive battleground among nations, particularly between the United States and China. Due to AI's data and resource-intensive nature, only major powers could possess the capacity to build AI models domestically. While the commercial entities developing AI is undeniable, control often remains closely tied to their respective governments. What about smaller countries like those in South-east Asia? The simpler and more economical path is to adopt AI models commercially. This approach is not only more efficient, but it can also provide substantial foreign investment, primarily in the form of data centres funded and operated by tech giants. However, AI models have their own ecological uniqueness which carries the cultural blueprint of the country of origin. Take China's Deepseek model as an example. Deepseek is able to illustrate both Oriental and Western folklore. Yet, it struggles when asked to depict characters from say, a Slavic folklore such as Kolobok, due to insufficient data from that cultural domain. This suggests that AI is currently limited by its own enclosed ecosystem, confined only to the inherent features of its parent nation. As time goes by, the more it learns from other cultures, the more the ecosystem expands in its knowledge and capabilities. The more information it absorbs, the more persuasive its influence becomes. We already know that Chinese models like Deepseek follow China's party line, and American models like OpenAI have strong political biases. Is the global race for AI dominance leading us into a modern-day version of the 19th-century 'Great Game'? Is Generation Z at risk of being caught in a digital conflict driven by external powers as part of the great game towards 'AI colonisation'? * This is the personal opinion of the writers or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
Russia Today
18-02-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Riyadh meeting first of its kind ‘since after Cold War'
The meeting between Russia and the US in Saudi Arabia has demonstrated a fundamental change in Washington's approach to dealing with Moscow, Dmitry Suslov, a member of the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, has told RT. High-profile Russian and American delegations met in Riyadh on Tuesday to explore ways to restore diplomatic ties, lay the groundwork for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, and advance efforts toward resolving the Ukraine conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who led Moscow's team, said both delegations worked 'quite successfully' on improving relations; they 'not only listened but also heard each other'. According to Suslov, the 'recognition' by the US of Russia's 'interests and concerns' was extremely important, as it was the first such acknowledgment in more than four decades. 'This is the first full-fledged and official high-level US-Russian meeting in three years and the first meeting in more than 40 years in which the United States has had a discussion, a dialogue that recognizes Russian interests and addresses Russian concerns,' he told RT. 'This changes the entire paradigm of their [US] policy toward Russia, not just in recent years, but in the entire post-Cold War period,' Suslov, who is also a deputy director of World Economy and International Politics at Moscow's Higher School of Economics, and a Valdai Club expert, noted. A statement made on the eve of the talks by one of Russia's delegation, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, also drew the expert's attention. In a comment to CNN, Dmitriev estimated that US companies lost more than $300 billion by leaving the Russian market amid Ukraine-related sanctions. When asked by the outlet's reporter Matthew Chance whether Russia was hoping to negotiate a lifting of sanctions, Dmitriev stated that the restrictions were 'not that important.' According to Suslov, Russia may have identified a key factor that could appeal to the 'pragmatically oriented' Trump administration, namely 'money, resources.' He argued that financial considerations, particularly profits and losses, were central to Trump's decision-making. 'If the US wants to minimize the losses and start making profit again on the Russian market, then it's in the interests of the US to lift the restrictions,' the Valdai Discussion Club expert argued. The Valdai Discussion Club is a Moscow-based think tank and forum that brings together international experts, academics, and policymakers to discuss Russia's role in global affairs. Established in 2004, it is named after Lake Valdai, where its first meeting was held. The club is known for hosting high-profile discussions, often attended by Russian leaders, including President Putin.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kremlin signals efforts to sway Trump towards accepting Putin's demands
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have pointed out that the Kremlin is signalling efforts to pressure former US President Donald Trump into conceding to Vladimir Putin's demands while attempting to elevate Putin's status as Trump's equal in global affairs. Source: an ISW report Details: ISW analysts examined the intent behind a 30 January interview released by the Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency TASS with Fyodor Lukyanov, research director at the Valdai Discussion Club. Titled Don't count on big agreements, the interview reflects the Kremlin's continued attempts to influence both domestic and international perceptions ahead of future talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. The report notes that the Valdai Discussion Club serves as a forum where Kremlin officials, Russian scholars and foreign officials and scholars convene to discuss global affairs. The platform has long been instrumental in the Kremlin's strategy to sway Western policy in Russia's favour, ISW adds. The ISW points out that Lukyanov, a senior member and research fellow at the Valdai Club, has repeatedly moderated Putin's annual Valdai speech and is considered an "authoritative voice" on the Kremlin's foreign policy goals and objectives, although he holds no official position in the Russian government. It is noted that ISW is not prepared to assess or claim that Lukyanov has reliable information about Putin's mood or intentions for future peace talks, "but Lukyanov's statements in this interview are generally consistent with Putin's and other Kremlin officials' statements about Russia's future negotiating positions". Quote from ISW: "TASS' decision to leverage Lukyanov's interview to dampen domestic speculation about the possibility of a peace agreement in the near future also highlights the relevance of this interview and Lukyanov's statements when considering Russia's possible negotiating positions vis-a-vis Ukraine and the United States." Details: In the interview, Lukyanov claimed that the key issue in future peace talks on Ukraine is "not the territories" but the "root causes" of the war, which he attributed to NATO's eastward expansion in the 1990s and early 2000s. Lukyanov claimed that with regard to Ukrainian lands, Russian forces now believe that "with the territories, everything is clear: how much you take is yours," reinforcing the notion that the Kremlin has no intention of negotiating over its territorial occupations in Ukraine during future peace talks. Lukyanov remarked that "Trump only respects those who show steadfastness" and urged the Kremlin to "never give in" and brace for a "fairly tough conversation, even including elements of [a] bluff," calling on Putin to demonstrate his resolve in future talks with Trump. Quote from ISW: "Lukyanov's interview supports the Kremlin's ongoing efforts to force Trump into acquiescing to Putin's demands that amount to Ukraine's full capitulation and the weakening of NATO and Putin's personal efforts to position himself as Trump's equal on the international stage."Kremlin newswire TASS published an interview with Valdai Discussion Club Research Director Fyodor Lukyanov on 30 January entitled Don't count on big agreements, highlighting the Kremlin's ongoing efforts to shape domestic and global expectations about future negotiations between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. Lukyanov stated during the interview that the "main thing" for future peace negotiations regarding Ukraine is "not the territories" but addressing the "root causes" of the war, which Lukyanov defined as NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe in the 1990s and early 2000s. People's Republic of China (PRC)-based companies continue to supply Russia with critical materials needed to sustain Russia's war efforts in Ukraine. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on 28 January defining its position on peace in Ukraine, closely echoing the principle of "peace through strength" that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously outlined. The US military reportedly recently transferred Patriot missiles from Israel to Poland and is expected to deliver these missiles to Ukraine. Ukrainian forces recently regained lost positions near Kharkiv and Pokrovsk and Russian forces recently advanced near Chasiv Yar, Toretsk and Kurakhove and in the Dnipro direction. Support UP or become our patron!
