Youth urged to take greater role in global affairs

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7: Youth should take a more active role in understanding and discussing global affairs, including geopolitics, as developments on the international stage increasingly affect communities and their future, said the Russian ambassador to Malaysia.

Naiyl M. Latypov said greater exposure to different cultures, perspectives and international issues would help young people broaden their understanding of the world and prepare them to become future leaders.

“The future of our relations is in the hands of young people. We would like to ask them to actively take part in these events because it will be a very good experience for them and for the future of both our countries.

“You (the youth) should understand that the world is a very wide one, with different cultures, different opinions and different points of view,” he told TVS.

Latypov was speaking during the closing ceremony of the Paya Besar Global Pulse programme, a three-day summit bringing together Malaysian and Russian youth aged between 15 and 19 to exchange ideas and explore issues from different perspectives.

He meanwhile emphasised that such youth exchange programmes provided an important platform for young people to build international friendships, exchange knowledge and gain a better understanding of different viewpoints.

Latypov said this was reflected in the growing youth exchanges between Malaysia and Russia, noting that more than 600 Malaysian students are currently studying in Russia.

He said Russia was also expanding opportunities across states in Malaysia through student exchange programmes and grants, while encouraging greater participation from young people across the country.

“Maybe at the end of this month, I will have a chance to visit Sarawak. I hope I will be given a chance to speak with the local authorities on these youth exchange programmes.

“I hope that we will find some common basis on how we can enlarge our cooperation between young people of our countries,” he said.

Meanwhile, BRICS International Malaysia chairman and former senator Jaziri Alkaf Abdillah Suffian said youth participation in global affairs was important as international developments could have a direct impact on their lives.

He said people-to-people diplomacy was an important pillar of BRICS cooperation, alongside economic integration and government-to-government relations.

“The youth pillar is very important. Tourism is very important. So things like this, we should take advantage of and see how we can participate actively in programmes like this.

“Whatever happens in the global scenario at the moment affects everybody. It does not only affect leaders or MPs, but it affects the youth and families as well,” he said.

Jaziri said building trust and mutual understanding among young people from different countries could lay the foundation for stronger cooperation, including in the economic sphere.

He said early exposure to global issues was important in preparing young people to contribute to shaping the future of their countries and the wider international community. – TVS