Russia's Pivot To Asia: Issue 67

Merry Christmas! We have three important updates this week, most notably President Putin’s explanation of how the Russian economy fared during the year at his annual “Direct Line” public Q&A session, the Eurasian Economic Council summit in Moscow, and the Russia-African Ministerial Summit held in Cairo. The latter two were highly significant for Eurasian and African continental development. In Eurasia, new 2026-27 budgets were agreed and a significant number of development projects green lit, while the Africa event attracted over 50 African Ministers. Bilateral feedback from that is also now emerging – we examine developments with Botswana and Zambia. Elsewhere, we provide trade data on where Indian export opportunities lie in the Russian market, look at the South Asian SAARC and BIMSTEC trade blocs, and examine in detail this week’s new Free Trade Agreement with Indonesia. We also discuss in some detail the fundamental reasons why Western sanctions have failed and touch upon Russian investments into the Arctic, ASEAN and China. ​Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year! With best regards; Russia’s Pivot To Asia