Development directions of the region’s foreign economic activity in new geopolitical conditions

The development ofthe region’s foreign economic activity is an integral part of ensuring economic growth. It stimulates the production of goods and services, has a positive impact on GDP growth, strengthens the national currency and helps to attract funds to the country’s budget. The greatest foreign economic activity is typical for the regions of the Central and Northwestern federal districts in the Russian Federation. The Vologda Region, the territory of which is recognized as a zone of advanced development, plays a special role in ensuring foreign economic activity of the NWFD. However, the development of foreign economic activity in the region requires urgent revision of cooperation directions due to the economic sanctions imposed in 2022-2023. This need determined the aim of the research - working out and testing of the methodology to determine the development directions of the region’s foreign economic activity in the new geopolitical conditions. According to the results of the conducted theoretical review, based on the analysis of works of Russian and foreign scientists, the research presents the definition of the concept of “foreign economic activity of the region” - a set of foreign trade, investment and other activities ofthe region’s economic entities, carried out at the intercountry level, taking into account the chosen foreign economic strategy, forms and methods of work. The paper considers the external and internal factors concerning the development of foreign economic activity. We analyze the factors contributing to the development of foreign economic activity with particular partner countries: the economy of the partner country, distance, culture, and regulation. These factors served as a basis for the development of a methodology for determining the directions of development of the region’s foreign economic activity. Approbation of the methodology makes it possible to identify the countries, cooperation with which will be the most promising.