BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 28. On September
28, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Valdai International Discussion
Club began, focusing on the theme “Responsibility for the Future:
Limits of the Possible, or Limitless Possibilities?”


The Club’s flagship conference will run through October 1 and
bring together 120 participants from 40 countries, including
Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Egypt,
India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Canada, China, Malaysia, the UAE,
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Türkiye, France,
Switzerland, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Japan.


Last year, participants at the Valdai Forum discussed the
factors that enable states to maintain stability amid constant
change. Today, the organizers believe that despite the crisis in
the global order and the unprecedented escalation of conflicts, it
is important to continue analyzing what the future might look like
in order to be able to influence the process of its formation.


The theme of responsibility for the future has been central and
has shaped the agenda of Valdai events throughout the year.
Participants in the Valdai Forum will continue to discuss the
manageability and predictability of international affairs against
the backdrop of a crisis in multilateral institutions. The
organizers invite participants in the 23rd Annual Meeting to
examine the potential consequences of escalating military and
political tensions, the restructuring of the system of trade and
economic relations, and the introduction of new technologies, as
well as to discuss the responsibility of states and their role in
the future world order.







The session will open with a presentation of a specially
prepared report titled “Keep Calm: The State and Responsibility for
the Future.” “The Valdai Club’s annual report in the turbulent and
unsettling year of 2026—on How to Stop Worrying and Love the
Disorder,” the authors write.


The session’s program includes the opening, the report
presentation, nine thematic sessions, a special session, and an
open discussion. In addition, participants in the Valdai will, as
is traditional, meet with representatives of the Russian
government: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Chief
of Staff of the Presidential Administration Maksim Oreshkin.