Statement by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Pankin at the APEC Foreign and Trade Ministers' Meeting, Session 1: Innovation and Prosperity, Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, October 30, 2025
30 October 2025 18:26
1816-30-10-2025
Distinguished Mr. Chairman, dear colleagues,
The Asia-Pacific region, alongside the global economy, is facing serious constraints to development. The three percent growth forecast for regional GDP this year cannot be considered optimal.
Blame rests on the increasing man-made challenges: the use of the economy as a weapon, the politicization of trade, investment and technology transfer through unilateral coercive measures, tariffs and various control mechanisms. The reform of the Bretton Woods institutions in the interests of the Global South and the Global East has stalled. The fundamental WTO principle - most-favoured-nation treatment - is explicitly violated. In other words, we are witnessing a deliberate collapse of the global economy as a holistic mechanism for the sake of ambitions of individual economies seeking to maintain their dominance and impose zero sum games on others.
These alarming trends overlap objective transformational processes caused by digital, energy, and demographic transitions.
According to UNCTAD, the AI market will reach 4.8 trillion USD by 2033. Russia, with the update of the National AI Development Strategy in 2023, made an important step up from the "digital economy" towards the "data economy." Over the past five years, the IT sector's contribution to national GDP has doubled. To scale up efforts, leading Russian companies have joined together to form the AI Alliance Russia, which has become a co-founder of the international AI Alliance.
A fair architecture for international AI regulation is now high on the agenda. We see it based on non-discriminatory approaches, respect for sovereignty, domestic norms, and ethics. Technology should serve all of humanity, rather than exacerbate the digital divide between the North and the South. The central role in this process should be played by the UN. We welcome the launch of the Global Dialogue and the Independent International Scientific Panel.
In the next ten years, the development of AI may affect up to 40 percent of jobs globally. In Russia, every tenth university graduate receives a degree in IT. Retraining programs have been launched. Some of our projects in APEC also seek to facilitate the promotion of innovation in the Asia-Pacific, including those on mathematical modelling for sustainable development processes and the use of AI in specific industries.
Our economy promotes a whole-of-government approach to demographic changes. A series of measures is being implemented to stimulate the birth rate and support families with children, including maternity capital. As the basis for a prosperous society, we see respect for spiritual and moral values and the family as well as acknowledgement of the indisputable fact that society is men and women, not a product of social engineering. We are expanding opportunities for women to combine career and motherhood, and contributing to strengthening their positions at senior levels, including in business, STEM and creative industries.
The creative sector already accounts for 4.1 percent of Russia's GDP. About 1.5 thousand participants attended the first International Conference on Creative Economy (St. Petersburg, October 8-9). This year in APEC, we have come up with a set of specific recommendations to support women in this area. However, they have been blocked by several economies that only pay lip service to women, but in fact cannot get rid of their geopolitical ambitions.
An effective response to today's challenges is only possible in a coordinated manner within the framework of the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040. It is in our interests to continue moving towards building a shared, open and non-discriminatory economic cooperation environment in the Asia-Pacific region based on international law and respect for various development models.
We thank our South Korean colleagues for their hospitality and responsible approach. We look forward to meaningful cooperation with the People's Republic of China in 2026. We wish our Chinese friends success. Thank you.
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