Innovations in technology are emerging at an exponential pace and the diffusion of technology is faster than ever across the world. At the heart of these transformations lies Eurasia, home to over 70% of the world's population and a highly complex array of diverse geopolitical systems. How can Eurasian nations strategically align themselves to harness the benefits of this rapid technological evolution? And what role will its geopolitics play?
The 2023 Budapest Eurasia Forum marks the fourth instalment in the annual conference series initiated by the Hungarian National Bank (Magyar Nemzeti Bank - MNB), starting in 2020. This year the conference, themed "Transitions for Sustainability", delved into diverse subjects revolving around the transformations in institutions, encompassing financial, governance, and international infrastructures needed for advancing global objectives such as digitalization, sustainability, and green transitions.
The hybrid event kicked off with opening remarks by György H Matolcsy, Governor of MNB and over the course of two days hosted 53 distinguished speakers from 15 countries. The Forum featured esteemed academics and experts such as Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, Dániel Palotai, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Xuejun CAI, President of the Chinese Silk Road Fund China and many other high-level experts, policymakers, and stakeholders from financial institutions, universities, and international think tanks.
Elena Rovenskaya, Program Director of Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA) at IIASA led a panel discussion centred on Geopolitics in technology. The discussion revolved around the impact of the current geopolitical fragmentation on the development and adoption of new technologies across Eurasia; the impacts of the trading tensions between U.S. and China on Eurasian nations, and the catalytic effect of international ambitions such as the UN 17 SDG goals to revive cooperation between Eurasian nations. This was followed by purposeful discussions on the shifting trends of scientific and technological leadership around the world and the need for interdisciplinarity, open science, and diversity to ensure that gains from innovation are equitable for everyone. In 2014-2019 ASA conducted relevant research in project "Challenges and Opportunities of Economic Integration in Eurasian and Wider European Space" focusing on the key challenges and prospects of geopolitical relations and economic cooperation between the European Union, the Eurasian Economic Union, and other countries with which both unions had strong economic ties.
IIASA has been involved in the Budapest Eurasia Forum as a partner institution every year since the first conference of the series that took place in 2020, covering crucial topics including climate change, sustainability, digitalization, and international relations. The annual events of the Budapest Eurasia Forum consistently offer a valuable platform for in-depth discussions and connecting experts and decision makers specialized in finance and other fields of policy, enterprise, and research. We express our gratitude to MNB for their ongoing collaboration and appreciate the continued invitation to contribute to this insightful forum.
