Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 11 October 2011 – The world urgently
needs to rebuild trust in leaders, in governance systems and among
countries if the international community is to shape new models and
collaborative approaches to solve global challenges, political leaders
and policy experts stressed in the closing session of the World
Economic Forum’s Summit on the Global Agenda 2011. The global economic
crisis and the financial turmoil in Europe have tested the
relationships among nations and the trust of citizens in their
governments.
“I see a real breakdown of the sense of trust among countries,” said
Robin Niblett, Director of Chatham House, United Kingdom. “We need to
focus as much on building trust between communities rather than [any
new] architecture” of global cooperation. “I would hesitate saying
that we have to throw out all institutions,” Bill Richardson III,
Chairman of Global Political Strategies Group, APCO Worldwide, USA,
agreed. “Building coalitions of the willing and reviving existing
institutions are the models that need to be pursued.”
Without trust, vital cooperation to address global problems will be
impossible at a time when collaboration is what is most urgently
needed. “Coordination and interdependence of markets is very key,”
reckoned Linah K. Mohohlo, Governor and Board Chairman of the Bank of
Botswana. “Cooperation and collaboration need to be the new norm,”
added Lana Nusseibeh, Minister Plenipotentiary and Director, Policy
Planning Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, United Arab
Emirates. Concluded Jose Antonio Torre Medina, Undersecretary for
Competitiveness and Business Regulation of Mexico: “We need to take
collective action where every country, every citizen too, does their
part. It is not in the hands of a single country or a single person.”
But rebuilding trust in leaders and among countries depends on
improving the quality and competence of national governance.
“Politicians need to garner enough courage to overcome
“short-termness” and bias to take long-term structural reform
measures,” explained He Yafei, Ambassador and Permanent Representative
of China to the UN and Other International Organizations, Geneva. “We
need action, not hesitation. We need boldness, not cowardice.”
A key factor in building trust is transparency, Mohohlo noted. “The
public needs to be very much aware of what is going on.” And people
must understand the full consequences of government decisions. Youth
in particular have to participate in the decision-making. “Young
people need to have ownership of their future,” Ambassador He Yafei
advised.
The Summit on the Global Agenda 2011 brought together more than 800
thought leaders and experts on 79 of the most pressing global issues.
The insights and new models generated by the World Economic Forum’s
Network of Global Agenda Councils will help to shape the agenda of the
World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters in January
2012. They will also contribute to the consultations that the Forum is
holding with France, the current chair of the G20, and next year’s
chair, Mexico.
“This bold and intelligent process is an antidote to conventional
thinking,” Torre said. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of
the World Economic Forum, congratulated the Council Members for their
successful brainstorming: “We all came here engaged in our small world
and now we see a pattern of the world of tomorrow with all its
challeng