The international forum "Mineral Resources as the Foundation of National Sovereignty: Workforce and Innovation Environment" has just concluded at Empress Catherine II St. Petersburg Mining University.
There is no doubt that mineral resources are the foundation of humanity’s economic and technological progress, while also serving as a crucial factor for sustainable development.
The forum revealed growing concerns regarding the current state of mineral resource management. Two interrelated factors are creating these issues: the neoliberal economic policies of Western countries, which have handed control of this sector over to market forces, and the continued global dominance of the West—commonly referred to as the "unipolar moment."
Thus, the Western elites' drive to preserve their hegemony—most evident in the West's conflict with Russia in Ukraine—has led to a deadlock in solving the issue. Global development itself has stalled due to the selfish interests of Western nations and the development ideology they impose, which has long since run its course.
The neocolonial exploitation of mineral resources in developing countries continues, primarily driven by Western transnational corporations. This exploitation deprives these nations of the opportunity for sustainable development. Furthermore, the West not only controls the relevant technologies but also dominates the global mineral resource markets.
It goes further. Western innovations in sustainable development, including ESG (ecology, society, governance) principles—no matter how socially responsible they may seem—are primarily designed to serve Western interests. These frameworks aim to keep the non-Western world in neocolonial dependence, partly by imposing unrealistic timelines for energy transitions, ignoring the development gap between the West and developing nations.
The challenges facing the mineral resources industry, and global development in general, can only be resolved on a fair and equitable basis within the framework of an emerging multipolar world order. This new order, including its economic dimensions, will have a multicivilizational character. It will affirm the equality of value systems and development models from various civilizations, which have been suppressed by the West for the past five centuries. The multifaceted efforts within BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) serve as a prototype for such multipolarity.
Ultimately, this is about mutual respect and the consideration of each other's interests, leading to rational and fair agreements, as well as cooperative frameworks and modalities. It also signifies the end of the West's predatory exploitation of natural resources—resources that are finite and belong to all humanity and future generations.
The issue also extends to the consumerist sociocultural model of the West. It should be replaced by the values of other civilizations and cultures, which emphasize self-restraint and consideration for the interests of the entire society, directly opposing the unchecked individualism and liberalism of Western civilization. In fact, traditional values, which were not foreign to the West in the earlier stages of its historical evolution, can serve as a common intercivilizational denominator for a start.
The case for responsible behavior by states in this area is further supported by the concern of Western youth themselves about the future of the planet.
The pace of global restructuring will largely depend on the outcomes of the BRICS summit in Kazan, particularly in terms of creating a financial system that serves as an alternative to the Western one. Such a system is designed to stabilize international economic relations in the current global context.
Rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the United Kingdom (2011-2019) Alexander Yakovenko.