Russia-Turkey Young Leaders’ Forum 2019: How did it go?

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On April 23-27 Moscow hosted the Russia-Turkey Young Leaders’ Forum which opened the new season of the New Generation program in 2019.

Upon their arrival in Moscow on April 23, the participants from Turkey had a welcoming dinner during which they had an opportunity to meet each other as well as get familiar with the tight schedule of the upcoming forum. The guests were greeted by representatives of Rossotrudnichestvo, members of its expert council and organizing team.

On April 24, the forum opened with a meeting at the Gorchakov Fund of Support for Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis]. Deputy CEO of the Fund Roman Grishenin greeted young Turkish leaders on behalf of Sergey Lavrov, the President of the Supervisory Board and Russian Foreign Minister. "Relationship with Turkey is one of the key priority areas in the foreign policy of Russian Federation", Roman Grishenin pointed out. "During the last eight years, we sponsored more than 450 projects in different spheres of international relations. It is pleasing that 20 of them directly dealt with the contents of Russian-Turkish relations".

On April 25, the participants of the forum visited the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and met with the Head of Turkish Section of the 4th European Department Dmitry Zykov. He pointed out that Russia and Turkey share a long history of diplomatic ties. "Relations with Turkey have foreground importance for Russian foreign policy at present", he stressed.

The representatives of Turkish delegation took part in the round table on the topic "Turkish Issue in the Russian Foreign Policy". The participants of the meeting discussed the development of bilateral cooperation in economic, military and humanitarian spheres, the prospects for solving the visa issue and other urgent questions on the international agenda.

On April 26, foreign guests met with the Deputy Head of Rossotrudnichestvo Mikhail Brukhanov and the Ambassador of Turkey in Russia Mehmet Samsar. The meeting was held at the premises of Rossotrudnichestvo.

Mikhail Brukhanov welcomed the young leaders on the behalf of Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Head of the federal agency. “During this trip, you weren’t the guests of Rossotrudnichestvo. You were the guests of the President because we are doing this work according to his presidential decree,” he said. “We will be happy to continue to be a bridge for you to our country, might it be for your professional or personal interests.”

On April 27, the program of the event concluded with a formal closing ceremony at the Russian-Turkish Business Council with the participation of its President Akhmet Palankoyev and General Secretary of Russian-Turkish Public Forum (RTPF) Sergey Markov.

Akhmet Palankoyev said that Russian-Turkish Business Council, which was founded by Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, first of all, strives to strengthen economic ties between the countries, assisting Turkish businessmen in Russia and Russian businessmen in Turkey. He pointed out that the door of the Council is always open to young leaders, including those who come in with ideas for joint business projects.

Sergey Markov told the delegates about the history of the establishment of the Russian-Turkish Public Forum that functions under the authority of the Council of Cooperation of the highest level between Russia and Turkey. He emphasized the fact that RTPF is rapidly developing, and its activity will be enhanced as a result of the boost on special-purpose committees activity. "Our big goal is that the interaction between the representatives of Russian and Turkish public was more intense", added Sergey Markov.

Apart from an intensive business program, the delegates had an opportunity to see the main sights of the Russian capital including VDNKh park. Besides, they were impressed by the visit to the headquarters of the largest Russian internet company Yandex.

Turkish delegates enjoyed the rich and balanced nature of the program which gave them an opportunity to learn about the work of Russian state bodies, private enterprises and NGOs as well as establish useful connections in the country.