Leonid A.Friedman Memorial Round Table “Developed and developing countries in the world economic space”

A round table in memory of a famous scientist, economist, orientalist Leonid Fridman “Developed and developing countries in the world economic space” was held on February 7.

The meeting was opened by Vera Vishnyakova, Head of the School of International Regional Studies of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, who noted the high importance of Dr. Fridman's contribution to the development of national oriental studies.

Head of the School of Oriental Studies of the the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the National Research University Higher School of Economics Andrei Karneev and moderator of the meeting the head of the UN SDG Center at the Russian Middle East Association, Associated lecturer of the the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the National Research University Higher School of Economics Elmira Imamkulieva, who personally knew Dr. Fridman and worthily continued his work, noted his merits in teaching and emphasized a special approach to each of his students.

The round table turned out to be not only interesting, but also modern: experts from the U.S. and the UK - Fyodor Ovchinnikov, a member of the Board of Directors of the regional branch of the American Association of the United Nations in San Francisco, and Nikolai Kazantsev, a postgraduate student of the University of Manchester, came in contact with the participants. Fyodor Vadimovich presented the audience with a practical view of the problems of global systems to support local social change in the context of the UN SDG and their detailed classification. Student of Leonid Friedman Elmira Imamkulieva shared with colleagues her personal memories of the special ability of the outstanding economist to see the essence behind the numbers and spoke about the Arab world, its features and potential.

Next speaker, Renat Karamurzov, professor at the Department of Economics and Economic Geography of the Lomonosov Moscow State University's IAAS, presented the original database on macroeconomic indicators, "MSU World Table", which was of interest to practicing economists. Continuing the theme of the Arab East, Nikolay Kazantsev and Timur Buranov talked to the audience about the geo-economic situation in the region, where, thanks to oil, shopping centers and skyscrapers have appeared in the desert, but simple water is still considered a jewel.

Anastasia Stepanyants, Head of International Practice Analysis at the Financial Market Strategic Development Department of the Bank of Russia, who was also lucky to learn from Dr. Fridman, spoke about sustainable financing opportunities in developing countries, including interesting practices of socially responsible business in India. The conference was concluded with a report by Angelina Egorova from the Department of Environmental Economics of the Faculty of Economics of Lomonosov Moscow State University on one of the most important and complex issues for the Middle East and North Africa - sustainable water resources management.