Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) via AFP
Russia announced a plan last year to shift its diplomatic and trade ties eastward from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region.
But experts say that the plan, nicknamed the “Pivot to Asia,” is already encountering difficulties and criticism.
Russia’s threatening posture toward Ukraine in recent months has drawn widespread international concern, but the Pivot to Asia has so far drawn less attention.
Toward the end of last year, the Washington, D.C.-based Jamestown Foundation summed up the obstacles to the “Pivot” as seen by Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
During his first trip to the Russian Far East as prime minister, Mishustin found an inadequate level of infrastructure support for international trade at a local seaport at Magadan.
Russia announced a plan last year to transfer its diplomatic and trade relations eastward from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region.
But experts say that the plan, which is called “the hub to Asia,” has encountered difficulties and criticism.
Russia’s threat stance against Ukraine in recent months has attracted widespread attention from the international community, but so far, the “hub to Asia” has received less attention.
At the end of last year, the Washington, DC-based Jamestown Foundation summarized the obstacles to the “hub” seen by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
During his first appointment as Prime Minister of the Russian Far East, Mishustin discovered that the local port of Magadan had insufficient infrastructure support for international trade.