Russia will reduce the costs of promoting the foreign policy agenda
Russia to cut aid organizations, advancing its foreign policy agenda abroad. Such NGOs — a tool of “soft power”, but the officials do not really use their Analytics, he said.
Budget expenditures to state institutions, promoting the foreign policy agenda of Moscow, will decrease in the next three years, follows from the materials in the system “Electronic budget”. Subsidies Fund for public diplomacy support. A. M. Gorchakov and the Russian international Affairs Council (RIAC) in aggregate will be reduced by 8% compared to the 2014-2016 years, estimated RBC.
Grants to two nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in 2018 is allocated in a separate kind of costs should be of the order of the Ministry of Finance about the changes in budget classification (published July 13). In the materials to the order States that the grantees are NGOs, “engaged in support of public diplomacy, promotion of participation of Russian NGOs in international cooperation, active involvement of civil society institutions in the foreign policy process”, and NGO “assisting” in the conduct of international foreign policy studies, the training of specialists in foreign policy and regional studies, as well as the cooperation between Russian scientific organizations with foreign expert-analytical centers on the issues of international relations. We are talking about the Gorchakov Fund and RIAC respectively, told RBC press service of the Ministry of Finance. The volume of funding generated by the Ministry of foreign Affairs — the main Manager of budgetary funds in this area.
What do foreign NGOs
The Gorchakov Fund since 2010, it was created by order of Dmitry Medvedev when he was President. As stated on the Foundation’s website, it promotes social programs in Russia and abroad, participates in the analysis of “economic and socio-political situation” of the country, and provides advice, conducts conferences and workshops, support Russian language media abroad, promoting democracy and human rights. In Board of Trustees of the Fund comprises foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, businessmen — members of the Forbes list of Vagit Alekperov, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, Alisher Usmanov, Suleiman Kerimov, Mikhail Prokhorov, Alexei Mordashov.
RIAC, whose founders are the Ministry of foreign Affairs, Russian Academy of Sciences and Ministry of education and science, calls the task of “promoting the prosperity of Russia through its integration in the global world”. The activities of this NGO, also established by Medvedev in 2010, is aimed at “preventing international conflicts and crisis management”, stated on its website. The Board of Trustees comprises the head of Sberbank Herman Gref, Deputy Prime Minister Yuriy Prikhodko, President of RSPP Alexander Shokhin, rector of MGIMO Anatoly Torkunov. In 2017, the managers and experts of RIAC met with experts from the American RAND Corporation, Qatari diplomats in Moscow, delegates from South Korea, Norwegian diplomats, professors of American universities, a delegation from Saudi Arabia, etc., to information on the website of the Council.