World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

With rivalries old and new, the hardening of religious schisms, momentous leadership changes and the dampening of democratic expectations punctuating a year of unsettling upheaval in global security, 2013 saw “seismic shifts” that will shape the future, said moderator Gemma Mortensen, Executive Director, Crisis Action, United Kingdom, a Young Global Leader. Which among the challenges will prove the most intransigent? And how best can leaders manage these shifts in the global security landscape?

The Consequences

Last year, there were three apparent trends that shaped the global security picture, argued John Chipman, Director-General and Chief Executive, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), United Kingdom; Global Agenda Council on Geopolitical Risk. Chipman explained that 2013 was “the year of living tactically”, a year in which the United States and its allies found it very difficult to fashion and attain a broader strategic goal, instead of responding to threats as they emerged.

Second, this was the end of the romantic era for the democratic possibility of youth movements such as the Arab Spring – as the challenges of pluralist self-governance became obvious, a more realistic realization has set in among international observers.

Finally, the limits of the supposedly emerging egalitarian international order have become obvious, as rising powers such as domestic issues constrained the foreign imperatives of such rising powers as Turkey and Brazil.

Bilateral rivalries have also come to the fore as inhibiting the resolution of regional conflicts. While Iran’s new leadership presents the opportunity for renewed dialogue with the international community, its non-existent relationship with Saudi Arabia presents significant challenges in resolving conflicts such as Syria.

“The sooner we engage Saudi Arabia, the sooner many of the outstanding issues in the region will be solved,” said Mahmood Sariolghalam, Professor of International Relations, National University of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran. “I think the ageing of the Saudi leadership is a paralysing element,” said Javier Solana, President, ESADEgeo - Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics, Spain; Global Agenda Council on Europe, particularly as that leadership contrasts with the younger, reform-minded leader in Iran.

Ian Bremmer, Global Research Professor, New York University, USA; Young Global Leader Alumnus; Global Agenda Council on Geopolitical Risk, was sceptical of the capacity of the United States to “live strategically” in 2014. While economic trends are working against reconciliation in some situations, like the Iran-Saudi Arabia tension, Bremmer said that observers should watch closely in other contexts to see “whether economics can trump the lack of understanding on these key issues”. More

 

Global food security a central topic at Davos 2013

Global leaders who gathered at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos Wednesday called for “step up to scale up” efforts for strengthening the world’s food security by improving sustainable food production. Working through the World Economic Forum’s New Vision for Agriculture initiative, more than 250 organizations are collaborating to improve sustainable food production and opportunities for farmers in 11 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to a news release posted at forum’s website (www.weforum.org). Together these activities will directly impact over 12 million smallholder farmers in the next three to five years, according to the news release.

“We have created new partnerships and new opportunities for smallholder farmers through our work with the New Vision for Agriculture initiative,” said Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam. The initiative helped to form and support a public-private task force engaging 30 organizations to focus investment and innovation on five crops prioritized by Vietnam’s national agriculture plan. The group is implementing projects to train, finance and engage smallholder farmers to increase sustainable production and farmer incomes.A new report launched this week in Davos, titled Achieving the New Vision for Agriculture: New Models for Action, assesses progress to date and recommends action steps to advance progress in the 11 countries. Strengthening environmental sustainability, expanding access to finance, broadening stakeholder engagement and investing in local capacity-building are among its key recommendations.“The New Vision for Agriculture has provided a way for stakeholders to align efforts to achieve sustainable agricultural growth,” said Michael Mack, Chief Executive Officer of Syngenta. “As a result, our company has developed significant new investments and partnerships in coordination with country leaders.”The World Economic Forum and its constituents are hosting 12 sessions related to food security, nutrition and agriculture during Davos. “We are committed to engaging all stakeholders to create a stronger global food system,” said Sarita Nayyar, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum. “Engaging the private sector is an important part of that effort, to bring investment, innovation and efficiency into partnership efforts.”Eight African countries are working with New Vision for Agriculture partners through Grow Africa, a partnership jointly convened by the African Union, NEPAD and the World Economic Forum. In Davos, African and global leaders will discuss implementation of more than US$ 3 billion in private-sector investment commitments in 2012. More