“Our Common Home – Altai”: international ecological-economical and humanitarian integration in the Altai region

Abstract

Cooperation of the border regions of the four countries, whose territories are located in the Altai mountain system, the so-called “The Great Altai”, contributed to the establishment of the International Coordination Council “Our Common Home – Altai” (ICC “Altai”) in 2003. The ICC “Altai” includes representatives of the legislative (representative) and executive powers of the Altai region and the Republic of Altai (Russian Federation), East Kazakhstan Region (The Republic of Kazakhstan), Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (People’s Republic of China), and Khovd, Bayan-Ulgii aimags (Mongolia). The main objectives of the ICC “Altai” are the development and strengthening of trust, mutual understanding and good neighborliness among representatives of states, cultures and nationalities in the strategically significant Eurasian region of the Great Altai, as well as ensuring sustainable social and economic development of the border areas. In the conditions of geopolitical splits and geoeconomic rivalries that have become more complicated and openly manifested in international relations, the processes of consolidation of border regions and actions to create cross-border economic actors are updated in a new way. The need for joint measures and steps to stimulate the competitiveness of local economies in the territories of the Great Altai makes it necessary to develop common governance and coordination structures.