Putin: The world is becoming a truly multipolar system

ASTANA, Oct.13, (ST)- Asia where new centers of power are growing stronger plays a big role in the transition to a multipolar world, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on Thursday.

“The world is becoming a truly multipolar system. Asia where new centers of power are growing stronger plays quite a noticeable if not a key role in that,” the Russian leader said.

Asian countries are engines of world economic growth, Putin pointed out.

“Here such integration associations as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Eurasian Economic Union act dynamically and efficiently,” the Russian president said.

Russia actively participates in all these processes, Putin said.

“We stand for Asia’s development and prosperity, for creating for these purposes a broad open space of mutually beneficial trade and investment cooperation, for broadening and deepening cooperation ties in various sectors of the economy,” the Russian president assured.

It was Moscow that stood at the origin of establishing the CICA Business Council, which has held within its framework over the past years “a lot of successful conferences and workshops across the entire economic agenda,” Putin said.

“And, of course, together with other Asian states, we take all efforts to create a system of equal and indivisible security based on universal and recognized principles of international law and the UN Charter,” the Russian leader emphasized.

For his part, the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the spread of terrorism and NATO expansion are undermining security in the Asian region.

“The spread of terrorism in various Asian countries as well as NATO expansion undermine the region’s security. The Islamic Republic of Iran, in particular, condemns economic terrorism and makes every effort to combat it. Economic terrorism is a universal threat that requires constant cooperation,” Raisi said.

In addition, the Iranian president pointed to the need for a regional mechanism to promote peace and security, as well as to counter the threats faced by Asian countries.

The sixth CICA summit, which brings together leaders and representatives of the association’s member countries, is being held on Thursday in Kazakhstan’s capital city.

Compiled by: Basma Qaddour