Globalisation has exacerbated inequality and failed to ensure stability, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said.

Speaking at the XVII Verona Eurasian Economic Forum, the head of the Company noted that over the past 45 years, the redistribution of wealth from developing countries to developed countries has amounted to $16 trillion.

Sechin cited as a prime example the so-called «structural reforms» being carried out in Ukraine under the auspices of the IMF and the World Bank. «The implementation of these reforms is a sine qua non for the provision of financial aid to Ukraine, which in turn is granted against the pledging of strategic assets, including agricultural land,» he said.

The head of Rosneft recalled that a few years ago, under heavy pressure from Western-controlled international organisations and despite large-scale protests by the population, Ukraine agreed to lift the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land. «Today, more than 9 million hectares, or about a third of the total cultivated area, are in private hands. At the same time, there is only one Ukrainian company among the ten largest landowners, while the other nine are registered abroad,» said Igor Sechin.

«Ukrainian agribusinesses owe billions of dollars to US and European financial institutions. Their debt levels are so high that in the event of default, their assets are likely to fall into the hands of creditors,» he added. Among the largest Western holders of Ukrainian farmland and state debt, the Rosneft chief named such well-known US financial giants as Blackrock, Vanguard, NCH Capital, Copernik Global Investors, France’s BNP Paribas Asset Management and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund.

«It is clear that despite repeated promises, globalisation by the US and its satellites has exacerbated inequality and failed to ensure stability. Karl Marx wrote: «Where there is equality, there is no profit,» said Igor Sechin.

The Rosneft CEO also believes that the dollar’s position is unlikely to remain at the same level. «As early as 1960, the Belgian-American economist Robert Triffin predicted the risks of the long-term dominance of the US dollar. In his formulation of «Triffin’s Dilemma», he drew attention to the fact that the dollar’s role as an international reserve currency is impossible without a persistent US balance of payments deficit, which maintains liquidity in the financial system and promotes global economic growth. An increase in the US balance of payments deficit in turn leads to a surplus of dollars in the world and undermines confidence in the US currency, which directly threatens its status,» Sechin said.

Rosneft Information Division
Rosneft Oil Company
December 5, 2024