2017 Conference proceedings

9:00 – 10:00 | Opening session

Thierry de Montbrial

Founder and Chairman of the World Policy Conference

Over the years the WPC has continuously stressed the importance of medium powers and the need for each State to include the structural stability of the international system and its components in formulating their own national interests.

Read the full text

HM The King Mohammed VI

King of Morocco

In-depth reflection and constructive debate will certainly lead to the emergence of new ideas and fresh solutions that will further improve our countries’ development models.

Read the full text

Emmanuel Macron

President of France

I could easily take on WPC’s goal as my own – thinking about ways to maintain reasonably open global governance, capable of absorbing shocks while also facilitating desirable changes

Read the full text

Bartholomew 1st

Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch

We must therefore note the imperative need for dialogue in order to respond to contemporary conflicts, beyond the religious or non-religious nature of these conflicts. Dialogue is not a negotiation. Nor is it a controversy. There are no winners or losers in it.

Read the full text

10:00 – 10:45 | Plenary session 1

The future of South-East Europe

Thierry de Montbrial

Founder and Chairman of the World Policy Conference

Read the full text

Ana Brnabić

Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia

There is basically one key disagreement, but we are trying to find a way to discuss it and talk about it in a way that will bring us closer to a resolution, and show that we do not want to leave this for the generations that will follow.

Read the full text

Edi Rama

Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania

People are no longer so frustrated and so reluctant to meet with each other, to come and go, to build business projects, to have cultural projects and so on, so it is a new way to live in the Balkans, which is fundamentally in discontinuity with our culture of living in the past.

Read the full text

Panelists Debate

Read the full text

10:45 – 12:00 | Plenary session 2

Investing in Africa

Jean-Michel Severino

President of Investisseurs & Partenaires

Read the full text

Miriem Bensalah-Chaqroun

President of the General Confederation of Moroccan Companies (CGEM)

As investors, we see education as human capital skills. We need skilled human resources, so we can match our competitiveness and productivity.

Read the full text

Christoph Beier

Vice Chair of the management board, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

I think we are at the stage to rethink and re-evaluate our joint experiences, and then to come up with a more coherent, more comprehensive, more selective, and more promising development approach.

Read the full text

Mostafa Terrab

Chairman and CEO, OCP Group

Indeed, we are Arabs, we are part of MENA, but it overlooks the fact that we are fully African, and this has consequences.

Read the full text

Rémy Rioux

CEO of the Agence française de développement (AFD), Chairperson of the International Development Finance Club (IDFC)

In 1900, there were 100 million Africans. Now, there are 1.2 billion. As on all continents, that will spur endogenous employment and economic growth with a speed and power no other part of the world has ever seen.

Read the full text

Shinichi Kitaoka

President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

In the recent past, I think that resourceless countries are making, generally speaking, better progress, development than resourceful countries.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

12:00 – 12:30 | Plenary session 3

With Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Thierry de Montbrial

Founder and Chairman of the World Policy Conference

Read the full text

Peter Maurer

President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Confidentiality and transparency are two different things. Transparency does not necessarily mean that everybody must know everything all the time. But accountability mechanisms must be set up.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

12:45 – 14:30 | Lunch debate

With Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, State of Qatar

Thierry de Montbrial

Founder and Chairman of the World Policy Conference

Read the full text

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al-Thani

Minister of Foreign Affairs, State of Qatar

We hope that one day, wisdom will prevail and that the countries who are trying to avoid engagement, avoid talking and addressing any of the security concerns, will understand they are our concerns too. They have to come to the table and solve the issues.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

14:45 – 16:15 | Plenary session 4

Trends in the Middle East

Miguel Ángel Moratinos

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain

Read the full text

Youssef Amrani

Chargé de mission, Royal Cabinet, Morocco

The major challenge today in our region, in the entire Arab world is to deconstruct the jihadist narrative and also to propose an alternate narrative.

Read the full text

Jihad Azour

Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF

It is important that we develop a forward-looking perspective on how things can develop in the years to come, so that we can define a certain number of actions that can have an impact and change the economic and social conditions of the people in the region.

Read the full text

Stuart Eizenstat

Partner, Covington and Burling LLP

The upsurge of nationalist, populist, protectionist, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim sentiments and the weakening of the political centre are the thread that connects Brexit, the Trump election, the rise of right-wing anti-EU parties and attitudes in the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary.

Read the full text

Renaud Girard

Senior reporter and international columnist at Le Figaro

Does the return of national feeling mean the proliferation of wars, the war of all against everyone in the Middle East?

Read the full text

Odeh Aburdene

President of OAI Advisors, member of the Council on Foreign Relations

The Arab region has to combine good education, science, and technology to achieve economic growth and jobs for their young population.

Read the full text

Itamar Rabinovich

President of the Israel Institute, former Ambassador to the United States, Israel

We are now in what we call the post-Arab turmoil phase. We had an Arab Spring. We then had the Arab turmoil and the foundations of several Arab states have been shaken.

Read the full text

16:15 – 17:30 | Plenary session 5

Trust and truth in the digital age

Steven Erlanger

Chief Diplomatic Correspondent, Europe, New York Times

Read the full text

Haïm Korsia

Chief Rabbi of France

The truth does not lie in the affirmation of one thing, but in an ethical tension between two positions, which requires finding a balance.

Read the full text

Susan Liautaud

Founder and Managing Director, Susan Liautaud & Associates Limited

Technology has disempowered state institutions. Starting with the law, we see that legal systems lag very far behind technology, which is constantly changing and at an increasingly fast pace, and the law simply cannot keep up.

Read the full text

Oliver Bussmann

Founder & Managing Partner at Bussmann Advisory, Zug/Switzerland, former UBS and SAP Global CIO

In the end, we are talking about significant financial benefits, such as simplification, speed and transparency, so the technology itself is a new technology of trust that the community will build and there is momentum across the region that I think is unstoppable.

Read the full text

Anne-Thida Norodom

Professor of public law at the University of Rouen, France; Member of the Strategic Advisory Board of Ifri

What is at stake is sovereignty in the digital age, the idea that States can protect their laws, protect their values, by justifying the application of their national law to digital activities, knowing that American companies basically have a monopoly on those activities.

Read the full text

Stefan Heumann

Member of the management board of Stiftung Neue Verantwortung (SNV)

Fake news and disinformation on the Internet have become major challenges. We need to study this problem more carefully to better understand it. Coming up with solutions won’t be easy as we need to avoid undermining freedom of speech.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

17:30 – 18:45 | Plenary session 6

The world economy

Richard Cooper

Professor of Economics, Harvard University

Read the full text

Uri Dadush

Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center, Non-Resident Scholar, Bruegel

Protectionism in the United States is bound to be profoundly destabilising, both at home and abroad, and it is going to give a very bad example to the developing countries that we hope would be the future of our long-term prosperity.

Read the full text

Kemal Dervis

Vice President and Director of Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution, former Minister of Economic Affairs of Turkey

On the one hand, you have this booming technology innovation, and on the other hand, you have measured productivity, which in terms of GDP statistics, is actually slowing down, where growth is slower than it has been for decades.

Read the full text

Jung Sung-Chun

Vice President, Department of International Macroeconomics & Finance, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)

The real wage growth is weak in the European economies, and that is, I think, the main barrier to the active recovery of the European economies.

Read the full text

Itoh Motoshige

Emeritus Professor of University of Tokyo and Professor of Gakushuin University, former Advisor to the Prime Minister

There are many discussions about the increasing protectionism, and yes, that is a concern, but at the same time, we can still have some prospects about the increase of a free-trade regime.

Read the full text

Qiao Yide

Vice Chairman & Secretary General, Shanghai Development Research Foundation

The income inequality has been reduced among different countries, but in each country, no matter whether advanced or developing, how do we solve the wide gap of income inequality?

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

18:45 – 19:45 | Plenary session 7

The future of transportation: connectivity and governance

Jim Hoagland

Contributing Editor, The Washington Post

Read the full text

François Barrault

Chairman of Idate/DigiWorld Institute; former CEO of BT Global Services and a BT Group PLC board member

You are not smart because you know better than somebody else, you are smart because you share, and young people and the Internet have put us in the sharing economy.

Read the full text

Patrick de Castelbajac

Head of Airbus Strategy and International

How close are we to urban air mobility and to the dream of flying around? From a technological standpoint, we are not very far.

Read the full text

Jean-Yves Le Gall

Chair of the ESA Council and President of the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), France

There is a strong need to conduct trials, to allow industry to design innovations for autonomous vehicles and to give governments enough data to inform policy decisions and legislation.

Read the full text

Panelists Debate

Read the full text

20:30 | Dinner debate

With Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Total

Thierry de Montbrial

Founder and Chairman of the World Policy Conference

Read the full text

Patrick Pouyanné

Chairman of the Board and CEO, Total

The first huge effort we thus need to make collectively is an effort to save energy and achieve energy efficiency. We need to avoid consuming energy.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

09:00 – 10:30 | Plenary session 8

America and the world one year after Trump’s election

Richard Burt

Managing Director, McLarty Associates, former US Ambassador to Germany

Read the full text

Juan Gallardo

Chairman, Organización Cultiba SAB de CV, Mexico

Where are we right now in the renegotiations of NAFTA? I think we are facing a great opportunity, and at the same time a great threat.

Read the full text

Yukio Okamoto

President, Okamoto Associates, Inc., former Special Advisor to two Prime Ministers of Japan

Mr. Trump or the United States’ most serious concern is North Korea, which is the same for Japan. It is our highest national security agenda.

Read the full text

Ryu Jin Roy

Chairman and CEO, Poongsan Group, Republic of Korea

The good days of an entire family immigrating to America for better lives and opportunities are almost over unless you are qualified with some skill sets and are able to speak English

Read the full text

Alexander Panov

Member of the Advisory Board of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Professor and Head of the department of diplomacy of MGIMO

Political dialogue on all levels has almost frozen. If witch hunts continue in the United States I cannot see a possibility of improving bilateral relations.

Read the full text

Hubert Védrine

Former French Minister of Foreign Affairs

The entire planet reacted very well to Trump’s decision on climate change, saying, “Whatever he does, we will continue honouring the agreement.”

Read the full text

John Sawers

Former head of the Secret Intelligence Service, United Kingdom

China is now replacing America in many places as the supporter and upholder of public goods, like action against climate change and in support of global trade.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee break

11:00 – 12:00 | Plenary session 9

Artificial intelligence and the future of human labor

Ali Aslan

TV host and journalist, Deutsche Welle TV

Read the full text

Masood Ahmed

President, Center for global Development, former Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF

Artificial Intelligence is happening, and it is coming much faster than we anticipated.

Read the full text

Mari Kiviniemi

Deputy Secretary-General, OECD; Former Prime Minister of Finland

When it comes to the basics of elementary education, people need a mix of strong cognitive and soft skills, to complement their ICT skills.

Read the full text

Holger Mey

Vice President, Advanced Concepts, Airbus

Once we start with automation and autonomous systems we automatically run into liability problems.

Read the full text

Patrick Nicolet

Group Executive Board Member, Capgemini

The way we look at the world compared to the past is fundamentally different and the type of work organisation will be completely distributed, so the hierarchical, social model, none of our institutions are geared to address these elements.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

12:00 – 13:15 | Plenary session 10

The future of trade and international investments

Nicolas Barré

Managing Director, Les Echos

Read the full text

Marcus Noland

Executive Vice President and Director of Studies, Peterson Institute for International Economics

The real threat is the interaction between the macro policy and the trade policy.

Read the full text

Bark Taeho

President, Lee&Ko Global Commerce Institute, former Minister for Trade, Republic of Korea

There seems to be a growing consensus about the need to help all citizens share the opportunities and benefits of trade liberalisation.

Read the full text

Francis Gurry

Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

The vacuum that is being left by the policies of the current Trump administration is creating an opportunity for many countries to move into the space, and in particular China.

Read the full text

Stefan Mair

Member of the Executive Board, Federation of German Industries (BDI)

There is no alternative to resort to global governance, even if it means weakening national sovereignty. We have to strengthen supranational governance in the European Union.

Read the full text

Yi Xiaozhun

Deputy Director-General, WTO

We must be aware that many people feel disconnected from economic progress and attitudes towards trade and globalisation have hardened recently.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

13:30 – 15:00 | Lunch debate

With Ahmet Davutoglu, Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey

Thierry De Montbrial

Founder and Chairman of the World Policy Conference

Read the full text

Ahmet Davutoglu

Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey

We need integrity, inclusivity, institutionalisation, interest optimisation and implementation of decisions.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

15:15 – 18:15 | Parallel workshops

Workshop #1 – Finance and economy

John Lipsky

Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); former First Deputy Managing Director, IMF

Despite the good news, US business investment has remained relatively weak, which explains the slow productivity growth that has been accompanied, despite the low unemployment, by low labour participation.

Read the full text

Akinari Horii

Special Advisor and a member of the Board of Directors of the Canon Institute for Global Studies, former Assistant Governor of the Bank of Japan

In economics terms, inflation expectation is more adaptive than rational, or more backward looking than forward looking. People have to see actual inflation through their eyes, before they believe that the inflation is reality.

Read the full text

Bertrand Badré

Founder and CEO, Blue Orange Capital; Former Managing Director, World Bank

For 10 years we were miserable talking about the Eurozone and for once, I think it is okay.

Read the full text

André Levy-Lang

Former Chairman & CEO of Banque Paribas, Affiliate emeritus professor in Finance at Paris-Dauphine University

I think that France is now realising that it has to take care of itself and not wait for Germany and I think that this is what is going to happen.

Read the full text

Jeffrey Frieden

Professor of government at Harvard University

I think that one of the unheralded and perhaps unexpected successes of the last 10 years was the extent of multilateral cooperation in the aftermath of the September/October 2008 crisis.

Read the full text

Raed Charafeddine

First Vice- Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon

What the Central Bank did was actually stimulating the economy and at the same time, taking the precautions so as not to impact inflation.

Read the full text

Debate

Old sins cast long shadows and the shadow that Argentina’s restructuring casts on the region and beyond is still quite dark.

Read the full text

Daniel Daianu

Member of the Board of the Central Bank of Romania; former Finance Minister of Romania

In spite of the efforts to maintain what is called the liberal international order, deep currents are working against it.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

Workshop #1 – Finance and economy – Synopsis

Bertrand Badré

Founder and CEO, Blue Orange Capital; Former Managing Director, World Bank

The system needs to think out of the box and is paralysed, because the system does not allow you to think out of the box. How can we move this?

Read the full text

André Levy-Lang

Former Chairman & CEO of Banque Paribas, Affiliate emeritus professor in Finance at Paris-Dauphine University

I think that there is no bank in Europe that creates a systemic risk. The European banking system is sound, but there is a problem in terms of profitability […] partly because of the vagaries of the capital markets.

Read the full text

Raed Charafeddine

First Vice- Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon

What the Central Bank did was actually stimulating the economy and at the same time, taking the precautions so as not to impact inflation.

Read the full text

Daniel Daianu

Member of the Board of the Central Bank of Romania; former Finance Minister of Romania

Financial innovation goes on and toxic products are put on the market and used, in spite of an allegedly more effective regulation and supervision system.

Read the full text

Jeffrey Frieden

Professor of government at Harvard University

I worry that, when the next crisis comes, intervention by the major powers, and in particular by the US, will be more destructive than constructive.

Read the full text

Akinari Horii

Special Advisor and a member of the Board of Directors of the Canon Institute for Global Studies, former Assistant Governor of the Bank of Japan

The dearth of active mangers makes the market prone to herd behavior, which could induce runs in the market when a shock is applied to it.

Read the full text

John Lipsky

Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); former First Deputy Managing Director, IMF

The IMF’s lack of an effective crisis prevention instrument remains a systemic weakness that can and should be addressed.

Read the full text

Workshop #2 – Energy and climate

Nobuo Tanaka

Former Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Chairman of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation

The energy sector is probably one of the most impacted by the unpredictability or uncertainty of the US policy.

Read the full text

Olivier Appert

Chairman of the Conseil Français de l’Energie

I will make a non‑politically correct statement by saying that Trump’s energy policy will have no direct impact on the CO2 emissions of the US.

Read the full text

André Caillé

Director of Junex Inc., former Chairman of the World Energy Council and Deputy Minister of the Environment of Quebec

It is not only the withdrawal from the Paris Accord but also the resurrection of coal fired power plants, supposedly clean, and the retirement of many regulations that could greatly impact US emissions.

Read the full text

Lee Hye-Min

G20 Sherpa, Ambassador for International Economic Affairs, Republic of Korea

The developing countries led by India and Turkey in particular stress the importance of parallel implementation of the Paris Agreement obligations, which are mitigation, adaptation and climate financing.

Read the full text

Tatsuo Masuda

Visiting Professor, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business Graduate School, Japan

We should not wait for governments to act, but rather communities, companies and civil societies can do everything.

Read the full text

Ladislas Paszkiewicz

Senior Vice President Strategy and Climate, Total

The difficulty for us as a corporation is how to supply this energy while at the same time decreasing our carbon footprint, which of course energy has an impact on.

Read the full text

Friedbert Pflüger

Director, European Centre for Energy and Resource Security, King’s College London

We will continue to need oil for a long time, especially in the developing nations, but gas can be a low-emission partner of renewables in the long run.

Read the full text

Discussion

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

Workshop #2 – Energy and climate – Synopsis

Nobuo Tanaka

Former Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Chairman of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation

To produce a transport revolution, very strong government intervention is necessary.

Read the full text

Lee Hye-Min

G20 Sherpa, Ambassador for International Economic Affairs, Republic of Korea

The Paris Agreement is irreversible and the global community will move towards its implementation, though the road ahead will be very bumpy.

Read the full text

Friedbert Pflüger

Director, European Centre for Energy and Resource Security, King’s College London

Politicians tend to set goals for a distant future, in which they cannot be held accountable anymore.

Read the full text

Olivier Appert

Chairman of the Conseil Français de l’Energie

Trump’s energy policy will have no direct impact on the CO2 emissions of the US.

Read the full text

André Caillé

Director of Junex Inc., former Chairman of the World Energy Council and Deputy Minister of the Environment of Quebec

Natural gas should be used to replace coal.

Read the full text

Tatsuo Masuda

Visiting Professor, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business Graduate School, Japan

I think technology is a real game-changer in fighting climate change. Even people’s mindset will change accordingly.

Read the full text

Ladislas Paszkiewicz

Senior Vice President Strategy and Climate, Total

The difficulty for us as a corporation is how to supply this energy while at the same time decreasing our carbon footprint, which of course energy has an impact on.

Read the full text

Workshop #3 – China

Park, In-kook

President, Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS)

In the wake of 19th Party Congress, what kind of economic reforms will we see? What impact will they have on the world economy?

Read the full text

Jia Qingguo

Dean of the School of International Studies of Peking University

The message is that you do not have to follow the Western approach in your development. Instead, you can find you own path of development according to your situation.

Read the full text

Qiao Yide

Vice Chairman & Secretary General, Shanghai Development Research Foundation

The conclusion is that China is moving towards the centre of the world stage. The detail is that we will continue to make a great contribution to the global GDP growth.

Read the full text

Douglas Paal

Vice President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

There are many more positives in addressing the challenge that China presents to the long-term American presence in the region.

Read the full text

Richard Cooper

Professor of Economics, Harvard University

These are poor countries west of China; they can use some help, and if China is willing to give the financing, we should applaud it so long as it turns out well.

Read the full text

Bark Taeho

President, Lee&Ko Global Commerce Institute, former Minister for Trade, Republic of Korea

After the conclusion of the Party Congress, there seems to be an agreement that China’s policy of reform and opening will be continued.

Read the full text

Yuichi Hosoya

Professor, Department of Political Science, Keio University

Without strong American commitment, I think that Japan has to change a previous strategy for the region, to create something like TPP without the United States.

Read the full text

Jean-François Copé

Mayor of Meaux, former delegate Minister of the Budget, France

I think that the European Union today is ready, provided it has its own capacity to continue and intensify the structural reforms, to be at a good level to be one of the major partners for China and Asia.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

Workshop #3 – China – Synopsis

Douglas Paal

Vice President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The United States ought to be coming forward with a policy of co‑optation of China’s new desire to be a more responsible stakeholder in the world.

Read the full text

Park, In-kook

President, Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS)

The most critical factor is whether the Trump administration continues to maintain the North Korea challenge as its top priority.

Read the full text

Bark Taeho

President, Lee&Ko Global Commerce Institute, former Minister for Trade, Republic of Korea

If certain industries enter into the restructuring process, the implementation of the market opening policy may face difficulties and possibly be delayed.

Read the full text

Richard Cooper

Professor of Economics, Harvard University

These are poor countries west of China; they can use some help, and if China is willing to give the financing, we should applaud it so long as it turns out well.

Read the full text

Jia Qingguo

Dean of the School of International Studies of Peking University

The principal contradiction facing Chinese society is the contradiction between the unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing need for a better life.

Read the full text

Qiao Yide

Vice Chairman & Secretary General, Shanghai Development Research Foundation

The Chinese people is still and will remain for a long time, in the initial stages of socialism.

Read the full text

Yuichi Hosoya

Professor, Department of Political Science, Keio University

It is essential for the Japanese Prime Minister or government to try and invite the United States to come back to the regional order as a leader of this region.

Read the full text

Jean-François Copé

Mayor of Meaux, former delegate Minister of the Budget, France

Globalisation is changing shape and the “new Silk Road” symbolises this change.

Read the full text

Workshop #4 – Russia in twenty years

Igor Yurgens

Chairman of the Management Board of the Institute of Contemporary Development, Russia

The fourth industrial will probably make the distances in Russia, that were our curse in many ways, a nonissue.

Read the full text

Alexander Dynkin

President, Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Russia

If nothing were to happen and Russia were to continue with the growth of an average of 2% a year, what does it mean in the global hierarchy?

Read the full text

Michel Foucher

Chair of applied Geopolitics at College of World Studies; Former Director of the policy planning staff of the French Foreign Ministry

Russia is certainly one of the countries that took less benefit from globalisation.

Read the full text

Donald Johnston

Chair of the McCall MacBain Foundation; Former Secretary-General of the OECD

Russia, with its rich human resource base, has the capacity to become once again a major global force in twenty years.

Read the full text

Yaroslav Lissovolik

Chief Economist, Eurasian Development Bank

A key issue for Russia will be quality rather than quantity. In terms of quantity, Russia is currently one of the highest recipients of labour markets in the world.

Read the full text

Artem Malgin

Vice-rector for general affairs and corporate relations, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO)

There will be strong growth with Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans, because now, there are no more emotions when it comes to Russia’s policy towards the Balkans.

Read the full text

Alexander Panov

Member of the Advisory Board of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Professor and Head of the department of diplomacy of MGIMO

For Russia and China, if both countries would like to be the leaders of the world, it will be a chance to create a new international order using new international laws.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

Workshop #4 – Russia in twenty years – Synopsis

Igor Yurgens

Chairman of the Management Board of the Institute of Contemporary Development, Russia

The fourth industrial will probably make the distances in Russia, that were our curse in many ways, a nonissue.

Read the full text

Alexander Dynkin

President, Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Russia

The demise of empires almost always brings tectonic shifts in the world order, and it also leaves long‑lasting territorial conflicts.

Read the full text

Michel Foucher

Chair of applied Geopolitics at College of World Studies; Former Director of the policy planning staff of the French Foreign Ministry

If we are not able to set up a new European order in the next 20 years, a new European concert, we will remain weak in the international sphere and be unable to promote stability in the critical neighbourhood that EU and Russia are sharing.

Read the full text

Donald Johnston

Chair of the McCall MacBain Foundation; Former Secretary-General of the OECD

Russia, with its rich human resource base, has the capacity to become once again a major global force in twenty years.

Read the full text

Yaroslav Lissovolik

Chief Economist, Eurasian Development Bank

Russia is doing it together with the European Economic Union, but there are dozens of countries that are waiting in line to forge a free trade area with Russia and its Eurasian partners.

Read the full text

Artem Malgin

Vice-rector for general affairs and corporate relations, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO)

In 20 years, Russia will be much more self‑centred and self‑concerned, with policy and ambitions made-to-measure.

Read the full text

Alexander Panov

Member of the Advisory Board of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Professor and Head of the department of diplomacy of MGIMO

For Russia and China, if both countries would like to be the leaders of the world, it will be a chance to create a new international order using new international laws.

Read the full text

20:00 – 20:30 | Cocktail

20:30 | Gala Dinner

With Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Morocco

Thierry de Montbrial

Founder and Chairman of the World Policy Conference

Read the full text

Nasser Bourita

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Morocco

Morocco does not consider itself a “power” (sub-regional, regional or international) but a “hub” of diplomacy, action and ideas for building an imaginative new paradigm.

Read the full text

08:30 – 09:30 | Reports from parallel workshops

Workshop #1 – Report 1

John Lipsky

Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); former First Deputy Managing Director, IMF

Even though in the medium-term there are certainly fundamental issues that need to be faced, the principal risks in the near-term are those stemming from political or geopolitical developments.

Read the full text

Workshop #2 – Report 2

Nobuo Tanaka

Former Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Chairman of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation

International coordination is necessary, but private sector efforts will yield a very significant improvement for the future of climate change mitigation.

Read the full text

Workshop #3 – Report 3

Park, In-kook

President, Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS)

In the next five years, China will have more continuity than change in foreign policy, and there will be more of a Xi imprint, and Chinese foreign policy will be more pragmatic.

Read the full text

Workshop #4 – Report 4

Igor Yurgens

Chairman of the Management Board of the Institute of Contemporary Development, Russia

Negative scenario: in 20 years, we are in a real fight between autocracy and democracy, and positive scenario: we manage to build bridges, to create new ideas, and we make a huge step forward in terms of global governance, of togetherness.

Read the full text

09:30 – 11:00 | Plenary session 11

The European Union and the world

Ali Aslan

TV host and journalist, Deutsche Welle TV

Read the full text

Richard Burt

Managing Director, McLarty Associates, former US Ambassador to Germany

We are going through a really crucial and historical change in which the message from Washington to Europe and the EU is now: ‘You are on your own.’

Read the full text

Steven Erlanger

Chief Diplomatic Correspondent, Europe, New York Times

The Germans are desperate to have a France that is in better shape, partly to share the responsibility and the blame for European leadership, because there is a lot of anti-German feeling in Southern and Eastern Europe.

Read the full text

Elisabeth Guigou

President of The Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures, Former Member of Parliament and President of the Commission of Foreign Affairs at the Assemblée nationale, France

But Brexit is also an opportunity for the 27, who, for the moment, have stood united in the negotiations in order to overcome their divisions, agree on their common interests and take their destiny in the global world into their hands.

Read the full text

Bogdan Klich

Senator, Minority Leader of the Senat, former minister of Defense, Poland

That is why, in this deteriorating environment, we have to do something with our European capabilities in the sphere of security and defence. It means that Europe should take more responsibility for its own security.

Read the full text

Michael Lothian

Former Member of Parliament, United Kingdom

One of the keys to the change we are seeing around us in the world is the growth in anti‑establishment feeling.

Read the full text

Yukio Okamoto

President, Okamoto Associates, Inc., former Special Advisor to two Prime Ministers of Japan

Who in the world can we partner with? There is only the EU. The EU is the best partner for Japan in this new campaign.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

11:00 – 11:30 | Plenary session 12

With Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj, Former President of Mongolia

Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj

Former President of Mongolia

We are really proud of our history, we are really proud of our present state, and Mongolia is the only liberal political and economic establishment since 1990 in the region.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

11:30 – 12:30 | Plenary session 13

The development of Africa

Sean Cleary

Founder and Executive Vice-Chairman of the FutureWorld Foundation and Chairman of Strategic Concepts (Pty) Ltd, South Africa

Read the full text

Nizar Baraka

Chairman, Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE)

How to integrate our entire continent? (…) I believe that this is the real bold move that will enable us to enjoy endogenous growth, growth that carries Africa, and that will truly make Africa the master of its fate, looking ahead to a time of involvement and integration with its partners.

Read the full text

Cheikh Tidiane Gadio

President of the Institute for Pan-African Strategies (IPS), Former Foreign Minister of Senegal

For Africans and their friends, it is time for a change in paradigm; it is time to reflect again on how to save this continent.

Read the full text

Aminata Touré

Former Prime Minister of Senegal

We also need to build solidarity, to tackle challenges such as corruption, terrorism, illegal migration, climate change impact, and solidarity in sharing progress.

Read the full text

Lionel Zinsou

Co-President of the Fondation AfricaFrance, Former Prime Minister of Benin, Former President, PAI Partners

We have no economic suspense, but we have a political and social suspense, because our model does not resolve any of our social problems on its own, unless we design policies that are extremely well-suited to this very particular constraint.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

13:00 – 14:30 | Lunch debate

With Aziz Mekouar, Ambassador of Morocco, in charge of the negotiations on climate

Thierry de Montbrial

Founder and Chairman of the World Policy Conference

Read the full text

Aziz Mekouar

Ambassador of Morocco, in charge of the negotiations on climate

If you look at all the decisions taken by many countries, especially China, but also in Norway and other countries (…), we see a lot happening in terms of research, in terms of science, and in terms of transforming science into implementation.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

15:00 – 16:30 | Plenary session 14

Security in Asia

Marcus Noland

Executive Vice President and Director of Studies, Peterson Institute for International Economics

Read the full text

Yim Sung-Joon

Senior Advisor at Lee International IP & Law Group; Former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and National Security Advisor to the President, Republic of Korea

Continuation of stringent sanctions on North Korea plus extended US deterrence and show of strength would be the best option to deter North Korean provocation.

Read the full text

Yuichi Hosoya

Professor, Department of Political Science, Keio University

The Japanese strategy is, of course, to avoid war but, at the same time to try to denuclearise North Korea.

Read the full text

Jia Qingguo

Professor and Dean of the School of International Studies of Peking University

The good news is that President Xi and President Trump seem to have gotten along with each other so far, it is quite impressive that these two strong characters find each other worthy of respect.

Read the full text

Michael Yeoh

Founder & CEO of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI)

We need to have more intelligence sharing among countries in Asia because that is so important in the fight against terrorism.

Read the full text

Jusuf Wanandi

Co-founder, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Senior Fellow of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Foundation, Indonesia

On the one hand the rise of China, and especially with President Xi Jinping’s strong leadership, and on the other the election of President Trump, with his capriciousness, have created many uncertainties for us, because we cannot follow his thinking and where he would like to go.

Read the full text

Mayankote Kelath Narayanan

Former Governor of West Bengal, The Raj Bhavan, India

Afghanistan may be in South Asia, but I think it is the heart of Asia.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

16:30 – 17:45 | Plenary session 15

Young Leaders session

Patrick Nicolet

Group Executive Board member, Capgemini

Read the full text

Natalie Cartwright

Co-founder of Finn.ai

I think AI is going to bring amazing changes. Our challenge is how we build governance structures, policies, and systems that are as nimble, innovative, and equitable as the companies they will support.

Read the full text

Edouard Nattée

Founder and CEO of Fox Intelligence

Transparency and accountability are the only way towards change. Starting by setting transparency as the default mode, while always protecting privacy and personal information, is the first step any leader should take.

Read the full text

Allen Ali Mohammadi

Co-founder, Hippogriff AB

We are living in a time where we have access to advanced technologies and high‑quality infrastructure that can empower us to tackle the challenges we are facing.

Read the full text

Arthur Stril

Co-founder, Zinc

We are on the cusp of a healthcare revolution and that there is truly a time, which is now, where healthcare is going to profoundly change, especially in the way it is delivered.

Read the full text

Aurélien Billot

Head of the Commercial and development policies Unit at the General Secretariat for European Affairs, France

In this thriving environment, we need an entity with democratic ownership that can address these issues of data governance, of access versus security, and of a level playing field, and I think that the EU has a chance here and could help fill this gap for all of us.

Read the full text

Debate

Read the full text

17:45 – 19:45 | Plenary session 16

The state of the world

Jim Hoagland

Contributing Editor, The Washington Post

Read the full text

Assia Bensalah Alaoui

Ambassador-at-large of HM the King of Morocco

It is clear that if you do not give people the chance to take up real issues in their societies, you do not provide the sustainable foundation for security. That is what we are trying to do in Morocco, thanks to the ambitious democratisation programme.

Read the full text

Kriengsak Chareonwongsak

Former Prime Ministerial Advisor of Thailand, Senior Fellow Harvard University and Chairman, Nation-Building Institute

There is a need for revolution coming that will change the entire architecture of the new global order so that economic, political, and social paradigms will be shifted and changed because today we experience a broken world that we cannot repair.

Read the full text

Ju Chul Ki

President of the Overseas Koreans Foundation, Former Senior Secretary for Foreign Affairs and National Security, Office of the President of the Republic of Korea

It is my view that the Iranian nuclear deal should be upheld. It would be very difficult to envisage another solution. I hope, personally, that the US Congress will take some decision on this matter.

Read the full text

Ashwani Kumar

Senior Advocate Supreme Court; Former Union Minister for Law & Justice, India

We are all individually and collectively duty bound – not once, not twice, but over and over again, to repeat what we believe is right because as Dante cautioned us – the hottest places in hell, said Dante, are reserved for those who in period of moral crises, which we face today, preserve their neutrality.

Read the full text

Mona Makram Ebeid

Egyptian Senator, Distinguished Lecturer, Political Science Department, American University in Cairo

The corollary to the growing influence of the security establishment has been the neutralizing of civilian politics. Civil society is under relentless pressure and its activities have been severely curtailed.

Read the full text

Fathallah Oualalou

Former Minister of Economy and Finance, Morocco

From the torment between this globalised present and the depths of culture and history, we must move on to managing coexistence between modernity, globalisation, and the depths of historical and cultural specificity.

Read the full text

Meir Sheetrit

Member of Parliament, Israel

I believe the only solution to reach peace with the Middle East is through what we call the Saudi Initiative, or the Arab Peace Initiative.

Read the full text

Yukari Niwa Yamashita

Board Member, Director, The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ)

I believe that we do not need more signatures on a piece of paper, but we need far more conviction and actions.

Read the full text

19:45 | Envoi

Thierry de Montbrial

Founder and Chairman of the World Policy Conference

Read the full text