Horasis Global Meeting – 2022

Toward a New Era of Peace and Sustainability

Horasis convened the digital Horasis Global Meeting on 19th May – one of the foremost annual meetings of the world’s leaders from business, government and society. The meeting’s theme was Toward a New Era of Peace and Sustainability and drew 600 delegates from round the world to contribute to the various panels. Discussions focused on the war in Ukraine, upon the spread and continuing mutations of the COVID virus; and how the world it entering a new turbulent time of economic uncertainty, inflation and energy shortages; and noting we are all at the edge of food and water famine. Download the meeting report and programme.

 

There has been a global shock and a review of the new geopolitical realities that were based on institutions, rules and mechanisms to reduce the threat of another world war. These have more or less maintained a stability for 77 years – until Russia invaded Ukraine. Yet the plenary discussions on these new realities were not all centered on Europe as Taro Kono, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan noted 50 years of Russian discussions with Japan about its northern islands had very slow progress due to Russian tendency to regress back to old discussion questions. Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Former President of Latvia, Latvia contributed several opinions, stating political blindness has always been selective. Proposals for change seems always to lead to protest groups… but it is not impossible to make positive change. Nik Gowing, Founder and Director, Thinking the Unthinkable, United Kingdom chairing this plenary upon the new geopolitical realities, stated his group had observed how global stability had been unravelling long before COVID caused its havoc.

 

Taro Kono, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan	Preeti Sinha, Executive Secretary, United Nations Capital Development Fund, United Nations

 

Alexander Gordin, Co-Founder, Rebuilding Ukraine International Agency, Ukraine was confident that Ukraine will prevail through the mobilization of global investors who will help to rebuild critical sectors of Ukraine. Andrey Kolodyuk, Chairman, Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, Ukraine echoed these words, adding that businesses can jump directly into a new sustainability, working with the help of the diaspora. Sergiy Tsivkach, Chief Executive Officer, UkraineInvest, Ukraine stated his agency will work with global partners and with global public and private investors which is not easy as all have different aims.

 

Lord Karan Bilimoria, President, Confederation of British Industry, United Kingdom thought that history is repeating dangerously as it has done since the beginning of industrialization; added to which there is COVID and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine. HRH Prince Adnan El-Hashemite, Chairman, Royal Academy of Science International Trust, USA agreed, suggesting there is mistrust everywhere, promoted through convoluted conspiration theorists and policy makers who push agenda with inadequate information using false logics. And Preeti Sinha, Executive Secretary, United Nations Capital Development Fund, United Nations speaking with full insider knowledge of the workings of the UN, said policy tools must work pre-, during- and post-conflict which is a big ask for global cooperation.

 

John Harris, Co-founder, Politico, USA led discussions on how we might search for a stable geo-political future – suggested we ought to be long-term optimists even if short-term pessimists. He introduced several speakers: one was Battinto L. Batts, Dean, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University, USA who said journalism, communications and free information flows help keep governments accountable which should aid global cohesiveness. One must be free, be objective, and present solutions though correct critical argumentation, added Sally Ann Ranney, President and Co-Founder, Global Choices, USA Andreas Fibig, Chairman and CEO, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), USA noted how argumentation and discussion is more complex now than during the former Cold War – there are more players with global reach. This was a conclusion reached by Murat Seitnepesov, Chairman, Caspian Week, Switzerland who agreed there are too many new unstable players in the New Cold War. No one will gain by short-termism, we will push back the process of globalization, concluded Jane Wurwand, Founder, Dermalogica, USA.

 

Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, Council on Competitiveness, USA	Jane Wurwand, Founder, Dermalogica, USA

 

Within the midst of these dire events the delegates have noted optimism and the increasing strength and intent of business leaders to overcome the globe’s many issues – not only of the scourge of war and the continued mutation of the COVID virus, but to address the future of climate change and to meet the agreed SDGs to which we have all agreed. Vinod Sekhar, Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, Petra Group, Malaysia said that the future needs committed economic leadership to bring society and commercial progress together. Capitalism can be redesigned if the whole world agrees, to be more socially oriented and inclusive, added Lord Simon Woolley of Woodford, Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom.

 

These changes come about through changes in the role of leaders in democracies – who are less constrained by government mandates, and who can change their style to one of cooperative leadership. Not blustering, as Marie Dzanis, Chief Executive Officer, Northern Trust Global Investments, United Kingdom stated, “if the leader does not have answers don’t bluster – rapidly mobilize talent to get answers”. This is an idea emphasized by Bo Inge Andersson, Chief Executive Officer, Uzauto Motors, Uzbekistan who uses skip-level meetings (going directly to lower-level staffs) so as not to lose touch with the people doing the work. Yet, he stated, leaders must be able to make painful decisions; to clarify the purpose of the organization, and engage with the metrics of success; and above all, give people hope. Augie K Fabela II, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, FastForward.ai, USA found the need to alter management style during the lockdowns of COVID as consumers have moved beyond ‘buy now’ to ‘get now’. As a consequence, the world of small and medium enterprises is more accessible to all buyers. But while Roger King, Founder and Chairman, ODS Holdings Inc., Hong Kong said he was optimistic about the future, he introduced a word of caution relating to family businesses in China that is conservative and micromanaged with leaders who like to pass the business to the next generation.

 

Inga Thordar, Executive Editor, CNN Digital International, United Kingdom led the plenary panel on the Global Economic Outlook, noting the past year has seen unprecedented changes in the world, and how economic perturbations have continued through the year, not least in China where its industrial production has plummeted. Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, Council on Competitiveness, USA accepted there the world is becoming more bi-polar. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Axilor Ventures, India took a broad view noting how the Chinese contraction is affecting the globe – this is of concern as China is the second largest global economy. Looking forward, Erik Berglof, Chief Economist, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, China noted how inflation will be long in duration since it was rising globally before COVID arrived. Central banks will have some difficulty in controlling it satisfactorily, especially in emerging nations.

 

The fall-out from the Ukraine war and the continuing COVID pandemic has meant our global stress on climate change and on meeting our SDG goals have been somewhat forgotten. Yet the realization of decarbonization must be taken up again, once the Ukraine and Russian issues come to some resolution. Chip Comins, Founder, American Renewable Energy Institute, USA recalled some aspects of COP26, held one year late in Glasgow 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.

 

Meanwhile, sustainable energy solutions are being developed. Youssef Chahed, Former Prime Minister of Tunisia, Tunisia discussed actions across MENA, noting how it generally lags behind the rest of the world. MENA countries have an energy consumption issue – oil and gas exporters are exposed to global market demands; the other nations have a strong need to increase solar or other renewables. However, while there is high use of digital media there is a low use of business apps and the use of the Internet, added Steven V. Melnik, Founder, PoliticalAndBusinessDiplomacy.org, USA. Lina Constantinovici, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Innovation 4.4, USA talked of the frustrations of not bringing together carbon markets, financing and solutions especially for the poorer countries. Kyriacos Kokkinos, Deputy Minister to the President for Research & Innovation, Cyprus reflected these issues. His country has financed innovation in digitization, IoT and space communications. There are data centers but no crypto-mining s they are too energy intensive, and are rejected in common with most of the EU. Igor Luksic, Former Prime Minister of Montenegro, Montenegro also noted the same costing issues. One government building if fully carbon-neutral but it is the only example. Perhaps these nations ought to follow the lead of Asen Vasilev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Bulgaria who stated that while Bulgaria pursued a standard energy model from the 1970s (coal, nuclear, hydro) it has moved now beyond the use of gas to rely on massive battery and hydro storage (for peak in winter at night) to minimize rising external costs.

 

Gerd Müller, Director General, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Austria	Asen Vasilev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Bulgaria

 

Indeed, these were some of the ideas expressed by Eve Bazaiba Masudi, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Environment and sustainable Development, Democratic Republic of Congo who said across Africa there is generally a problem of financial accessibility that limits access by the population to the advanced technologies that exist. Gerd Müller, Director General, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Austria reminded us that the negative consequences of climate change are being felt by the poorest among us. We must give them a priority through the SDGs to reach to a better life via a greater global solidarity and multi-national cooperation. Thomas Wu, Director International Affairs, Senate of Economy International, Germany agreed on these points stating the EU has to improve its operations even if potential African partners are skeptical of its aims.

 

Indonesia will hold the Presidency the G20 and of ASEAN this year and notes the shock effects of both the COVID pandemic (on tourism) and the Russian war on Ukraine increasing inflation through fuel and food shortages. Emil Elestianto Dardak, Vice Governor, East Java, Indonesia was very anxious about the wide-ranging economic impacts of the Russian invasion whose extent is presently unknown. And Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia was hoping that while global tourism is increasing, we must engage in diplomacy to support a tourism that educates, and which might better boost global growth.

 

Eve Bazaiba Masudi, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Environment and sustainable Development, Democratic Republic of Congo	Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia

 

In conclusion, the delegates said we can envisage a world moving towards peace and sustainability, though in some lands it is difficult to see this on a daily basis. There is however an opening sense of global cooperation and the perception of green shoots showing.

 

The co-chairs were:

 

	Bo Inge Andersson, Chief Executive Officer, Uzauto Motors, Uzbekistan
	Erik Berglof, Chief Economist, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, China
	Marie Dzanis, Chief Executive Officer, Northern Trust Global Investments, United Kingdom
	Vijay Eswaran, Chairman, QI Group, Hong Kong
	Augie K Fabela II, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, FastForward.ai, USA
	Andreas Fiebig, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), USA
	Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Axilor Ventures, India
	Roger King, Founder and Chairman, ODS Holdings Inc., Hong Kong
	Andrey Kolodyuk, Founder and Managing Partner, Aventures Capital, Ukraine
	Sally Ann Ranney, Co-Founder, Global Choices, USA
	Murat Seitnepesov, Chairman, Caspian Week, Switzerland
	Vinod Sekhar, Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, Petra Group, Malaysia
	Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, Council on Competitiveness, USA
	Jane Wurwand, Founder, Dermalogica, USA

 

Horasis is a global visions community committed to inspiring our future. Horasis’ summits have become some of the most influential high-level global gatherings which every year bring together governments, international organizations, and the business community to offer solutions to global challenges. In addition to the Horasis Global Meeting, Horasis hosts the annual Horasis USA Meeting, Horasis India Meeting, Horasis China Meeting, Horasis Asia Meeting, as well as the annual gatherings of the Horasis Visionary Circle.