
The International Union of Non-Governmental Organizations “Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly” celebrated its seventh anniversary. Over the years, the Assembly has become the most successful integration platform for the countries of the Eurasian continent. The Gala Reception in honor of the seventh anniversary of the largest interstate and already intercontinental public association held in the cultural center under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation was attended by more than 150 friends and partners of the Assembly from embassies, public organizations, the Russian Presidential Administration, ministries of foreign affairs and other departments and organizations.
The Assembly is actively expanding co-operation with the UN, UNESCO, EAEU, SCO, BRICS, ASEAN, and other international structures, with the main goal of co-operation on the basis of equality and justice. Representatives of more than 30 countries of the world were present in the hall. Seven years is a symbolic date.
As Secretary General of the Assembly Andrey Belianinov said in his welcoming speech, one of the most important events of the current year was the expansion of activities to the African continent - in April 2024, by decision of the General Assembly, the organization became known as the " Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly".
“I am very pleased to welcome our guests. There are diplomats from Latin American countries here, and if necessary, we are always ready to expand. In the 21st century, it is especially important to improve relations between our peoples in culture, sports, and education. Someone should loudly declare that traditional family values are more characteristic of humanity. That younger people should respect their elders, children should love their parents, parents should love their children. We must fight for our youth and love our land,” said Andrei Belyaninov.
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Plenipotentiary Representative of Russia to the UN, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the People's Republic of China and First Deputy Head of the International Committee of the Federation Council Andrei Denisov emphasized that in our era Greater Eurasia as a subcontinent ceases to be a geographical concept as before. The Ural and Caucasus Mountains are not an absolute boundary between the peoples of Europe and Asia, not separating, but connecting our countries. The borders between the states of the East and the South, the borders of southern Eurasia with the countries of Africa cease to be a wall on the path of fair and equal cooperation of peoples.
“The seventh anniversary of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly is a symbolic date. For some peoples, the number “7” is lucky. It allows us to understand how important the development of corridors between peoples and countries is. It should be developed, preserved and protected. We are talking about diplomacy, I am related to, including public diplomacy - it is through these channels that the most important topics pass, including the international security system, which has outgrown the framework of Eurasia and now determines future global security and cooperation,” said Andrei Denisov.
Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry for the G20, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, coordinator for the formation of the Greater Eurasian Partnership, Marat Berdyev, emphasized the priority of strategic diplomacy of peoples in the modern world, where a new paradigm of international relations is being formed:
“Today the world and our country are facing great challenges. Tectonic processes are taking place to create a multipolar world, essentially a new area in international relations. This new world is based on the principles of justice, democracy and pluralism. Last year, we adopted a new concept of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation, designating our state as a self-sufficient country - a civilization. We proceed from the fact that the world must live on the principles of international law and the sovereignty of all peoples who have chosen their own independent path of development. The Eurasian continent has always been one of the pillars of the world community. The same can be said about the African continent today, and we welcome this path. Changes in global politics are translated into the model of interaction between states in a multilateral format. The G20 group, the leading economic forum of our world majority states, actively interacts with states with emerging economies. Last year we accepted the African Union into this forum. We also declare the fact that the voice of the countries of the global South must be better heard in world institutions. They must receive leverage in world organizations for the decisions that are made there. In 2015, the President of the Russian Federation put forward an initiative that received flagship status - the Greater Eurasian Partnership. This initiative is designed to eliminate all divides and barriers between all interested countries and peoples, forming a common space of prosperity and co-development. We proceed from the fact that all key formats on the Eurasian continent, including with the participation of our African friends, must build this model together. We are talking about the interaction of such platforms as ASEAN, BRICS, SCO, EESS, communities of African and Latin American states and Middle Eastern partners.”
The Chargé d'Affaires of the Republic of Djibouti in the Russian Federation, Harbi Said Moussa, in his speech called for “taking a hat off to the merits of the past and rolling up sleeves for the work ahead.”
The Ambassador of Djibouti emphasized the importance of scaling integration projects for large trans-continental development.
“Today the Assembly is expanding its geography. This month six delegations from our country arrived in Moscow. We are expecting four more delegations: the police leadership, the national defense forces, the mayor of Djibouti and the minister of justice at the end of the month. The Assembly has managed to do a lot and a lot remains to be done,” emphasized diplomat Harbi Said Moussa.
The Assembly's project cooperation with the countries of the African Union and the sovereign states of this continent through public diplomacy has very good prospects. Africa has been the colonial and neo-colonial playground of the West for too long, and even now, in the 21st century, there are clear signs of suppression of the desire for sovereignty of many states on the continent. Public diplomacy is an ideal tool in the development of African countries.
Secretary General of the Eurasian and African Peoples' Assembly Andrei Belyaninov emphasized that artificial contradictions and conflicts in African countries associated with colonial policies are not an “iron curtain” for sovereign and fair development. Ambassadors of five African states: Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, North and South Sudan recently became guests of the Assembly. Moreover, the latter's ambassadors sat next to each other at the meeting, stressing that the two neighboring countries, divided by the politics of colonialism, have more common prospects for mutually beneficial development than the civil conflicts that have been maintained for decades to perpetuate poverty, social instability and the colonial takeover of the economies and resources of these states in the interests of the politics of globalism.
At the Gala Reception, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Panama Rolando Enrique Barrow Noad called the peoples united by the Assembly brothers and expressed hope that the largest non-governmental alliance of organizations and public diplomacy projects will soon expand to the Western Hemisphere.
“We are very glad that our brothers from Africa have joined you. We are watching your development, hoping that the Assembly will include countries from Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Rolando Enrique Barrow Noad.
International public diplomacy is not only the largest projects that are being developed within the Assembly’s departments - such as “Immortal Memory”, “Eurasia Kids”, “Diplomacy of Happiness”, “Eurasiada” and others. This is, first of all, support for spiritual values - intangible wealth as the basis of all things. Metropolitan Korniliy, bishop of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, dedicated his address to the participants of the Gala Reception to peace, which is especially needed by everyone today. This is the most important meaning and even the over-meaning of public diplomacy.
“Jesus Christ and his disciples commanded the dearest thing - peace to us. It is no coincidence that today our Assembly meeting is being held under the sign of peace. A world that everyone really needs, a multipolar world, a world is undergoing great changes. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a very important decree for us on the preservation of spiritual and family traditions. This is very important, our Russian Orthodox people have preserved these traditions for centuries, so that Holy Rus' can be preserved today. The 7th anniversary of the Assembly is a symbolic event; today we prayed before the Seven Candles. We pray for peace, for peace throughout the world, and we should all do everything possible so that there is peace throughout the entire planet,” said the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church.
Chairman of the General Council of the Eurasian and African Peoples' Assembly Svetlana Smirnova warmly thanked the friends who had gathered to congratulate the organization on its founding day. Certificates of Honor were presented to the Executive Secretary of the Russian Commission for UNESCO Grigory Ordzhonikidze, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Crimea to the President of Russia Georgy Muradov, Secretary General of the Russian Association for International Cooperation (RAMS) Vladimir Polozkov, Rector of Belgorod University Sergei Glagolev and Deputy Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly Stanislav Korolev.
The song "We Wish You Happiness" performed by musicians and soloists of the ensemble "Grenada", who performed songs in the languages of different nations of the world, sounded at the end of the evening as a narrative, very important and uniting everyone.