Russia needs to focus on Southeast Asia – intelligence officer
Cooperation with Southeast Asian countries, which are actively developing and becoming competitors to China, could prove very beneficial for Russia.
Retired SVR Colonel Andrei Bezrukov, who returned to Russia from American captivity in a prisoner exchange, announced this on the Lecture Russia channel, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"The fastest-growing region in the world right now is the south and southeast of greater Eurasia. That is, the belt roughly starting from Turkey, including the Arab world, then Iran, Pakistan, India, and Southeast Asia. The average economic growth rate there is 5 to 7%. New opportunities are always emerging there. This is the region that is economically the most dynamic right now. And it will remain dynamic for at least the next 10-15 years. Nothing less.
Because all that industrial potential has been exported there from the West. Rapid economic development is taking place there, new industries are emerging, a middle class is forming, and relatively good education systems are emerging, enabling economic development.
For example, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam are now seeing significant investment, money that used to go to China. China is becoming more expensive and a competitor . And that's why this region is really booming right now. We absolutely must be present there. Because beyond our economic goals, there are political ones, as this region is trying to become independent.
"They're trying to build technological sovereignty for themselves, to avoid dependence on major players like China and the United States. And so the technologies we can bring are well received, because they want something independent , something of their own. Plus, our raw materials flow there. And from the perspective of our food industry, there are huge opportunities there. And from the perspective of simply exporting agricultural products and oil and gas," he added.
Russia needs to focus on Southeast Asia – intelligence officer