“Reforming international institutions”... on the discussion table at the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies as part of the discussion of the results of the Thought Summit 20

Cairo - Eco - Fadi Labib : the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES) held a conference to present the results of the Think Summit 20 for the year 2023, in cooperation with the Observer Research Foundation ORF, for the first time in Cairo ...

with the aim of reviewing the most important results and outcomes of the successful G20 Summit that India chaired last September under the slogan: “One Earth.” “One family, one future,” in the presence of a large group of experts and specialists.

 

Omar Muhanna, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, said that the recent successful summit delivered an important message to the G20 by placing the countries of the South on the global map. He also congratulated the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of its establishment.

Sustainable development goals

Ambassador Raji Al-Atrabi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for International and Regional Multilateral Economic Affairs and Personal Representative of the President of the Republic to the G20, pointed out that geopolitical events and the issue of the Ukraine war were dominating the discussions in the G20 meetings, pointing out the necessity of getting the conversation back on the sustainable development goals on the right track. There was concern about the outcomes that could emerge from the G20 meeting, and had it not been for India’s diplomatic weight, the Delhi Declaration would not have been issued.

 

Al-Atribi pointed out that global financial institutions are not ready to face 3-4 other global risks during the next three years, which is causing a terrible deficit that affects not only the scarcity of funds but also the ability of institutions to mobilize private capital, as there is a global financial gap. It is estimated at about 15 - 23 trillion dollars, and we need to pump about 3 - 4 trillion dollars annually to bridge the gap and meet financing needs, and the gap cannot be closed without the contribution of the private sector, while the performance of financial institutions and the World Bank was very far from performing these goals, and he stressed that The continued human production of more climate disasters will lead to more economic crises, at a time when multilateral banks no longer have the ability to resist.

 

Dr. Samir Saran, President of the Observer Research Foundation ORF, reviewed India’s efforts in chairing the recent G20 summit, stressing that during its presidency it tried to adopt democratic talks that uphold the interests of people on the street and uphold the principles of integrity and values in global financial systems, as it included all issues related to famines, poverty, and changes. climate change and the financial gaps that have become in global systems, and emphasizing the principles of sustainable development that respect the rights of citizens, and inclusiveness by focusing on all peoples and not just the European continent, and rejecting colonial ideas that concern the countries of the North at the expense of the South, which was demonstrated through the call of the African Union. To join the recent G20 summit.

Fair green shift

The first session discussed how to achieve a fair green transition, which means that countries that have achieved greater gains from carbon emissions must make the greatest effort to reduce emissions quickly, and the participants stressed that the current policies that countries support and apply lead to an increase in temperatures by about 3 degrees Celsius in the world. A target time to reduce it by about 1.5 degrees, which will lead to more disasters, calling for the need to make greater efforts to transition towards clean energy, and there is a need for the world to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030, but if current policies continue, they will decrease only 2% by That year, they called for incentives to increase investment in clean energy, benefit from technology and digital transformation, and mobilize investments in new and renewable energy.

 

Dr. Ziada Bahaa El-Din, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Cooperation, Sanjoy Joshi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Observer Research Foundation ORF, and Elena Panova, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Egypt, participated in this session. It was moderated by Tarek Tawfiq, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt and Vice President of the Federation of Egyptian industries.

Stimulating trade and communication

The second session discussed stimulating trade and communication, and was attended by Navdeep Suri, the former ambassador of India in Cairo and a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Counselor Rania Abdel Majeed, Director of International Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Rashid Bengelion, Director of the Trade and Export Development Project in Egypt, funded by the United States Agency for International Development. It was moderated by Mohamed Qassem, Secretary General of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian International Trade Company.

 

The participants discussed the importance of digital transformation and technology in enhancing international trade, and the importance of multilateral trade agreements, pointing out the necessity of easing restrictions and facilitating procedures so that the movement of trade and exports can increase, as agreements alone are not enough, as well as the importance of trade corridors in developing the global trade movement.

Climate change and sustainable development goals

The third session discussed the links between climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals, in which Nicholas J. A. Bouchaud, Senior Advisor to the Dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute, Dr. Ali Awni, Professor of Practice and Director of the Gearhart Center at the American University in Cairo, and Elizabeth Sideroplos, Executive Director of the South African Institute of International Affairs, participated. , moderated by Alaa Hashem, founder and executive partner of Transcendium, demands the necessity of policy governance to achieve sustainable development goals.

 

Redeveloping global institutions and frameworks

 

While the fourth and final session discussed reforming multilateralism and redeveloping global institutions and frameworks, with the participation of Amr Moussa, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Antonio Villafranca, Director of Studies and Co-Chair of the Center for Europe and Global Governance at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISIP), and Dr. Samir Serran, President of the Observer Foundation. For ORF Research, and moderated by Dr. Abla Abdel Latif, Executive Director and Director of Research at the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, it was a session that called for reform of multilateral systems and international organizations, as the world is no longer able to deal with developments, which requires reform.

 

Amr Moussa said that international organizations have done a wonderful job, such as the FAO, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF, and the developing world has benefited greatly from them, but the failure in the global security system lies because of the veto right in the UN Security Council, because they only care about their interests. He pointed out that world leaders did not take up the issue. Poverty is taken seriously and it is an issue that must be a priority on the agenda, pointing out that one of the functions of the Security Council is to confront the dangers that threaten international peace and security, and one of its functions is to deal with the threats of climate change and pandemics, which have become a serious matter, and the Security Council does not know how to deal with these threats. There is insufficient funding for the Damage and Loss Fund, and this is a danger to all of us that must be faced, and which requires reform.

 

Dr. Abla Abdel Latif called for the need to consider reforming the global financial system and reforming international multilateral institutions, because they have failed to achieve the goals assigned to them, which means that the matter will not differ in the future in light of the continuation of the same policies, and therefore they must be reformed and real change should be made that enables them to Representing the voice of all countries, achieving sustainable development goals, and confronting various threats.