September 18, 2009

According to the Carnegie Endowment’s Senior Associate, Uri Dadush, the upcoming G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, September 24-25, which brings together leaders of the largest developing and industrial economies, is the best available option to deal with the post-crisis world. Although he says the G-20 assembly is larger than necessary, “it is nevertheless a big improvement on the G-8, which is not representative of today’s global economy, and on any UN-style universal assemblies, which are far too large to be effective.”

Dadush adds that although the Great Financial Crisis is far from over, a stimulus-triggered recovery is now taking hold. “The contours of the post-crisis economy are already emerging—from the sharply rising public debt levels in most industrial countries to the severely impaired balance sheets of banks and households in countries at the epicenter of the banking disaster, including the United States, the UK, and several smaller European countries. At the same time, China, India, Brazil, and many other emerging markets, which were badly affected at first, demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of the crisis and have confirmed both their attractiveness as long-term investment destinations and their growing economic and political clout.”

He then outlines four challenges for the G-20 Summit: what kind of recovery; when to withdraw stimulus; how to avoid the same crisis in the future; and, what is the G-20’s long-term agenda.

Read Dadush’s full article here.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will host the G-20 Summit September 24-25, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama will chair this meeting of leaders from countries that represent 85 percent of the world’s economy. At the Pittsburgh G-20 Summit, leaders will review the progress made since the Washington (November 2008) and London (April 2009) Summits and discuss further actions to assure a sound and sustainable recovery from the global financial and economic crisis.

Pittsburgh, once known as the “city of steel,” was selected because it has demonstrated a commitment to employing new and green technology to further economic recovery and development, and according to President Obama, “stands as a bold example of how to create new jobs and industries while transitioning to a 21st century economy.”

Read the White House statement on the Pittsburgh G-20 Summit here

Read more about the Pittsburgh G-20 Summit and the city itself here

August 25

Former President Bill Clinton’s visit to Pyongyang earlier this month to win the release of two U.S. journalists has perhaps set in motion an opportunity for significant improvement in U.S. relations with North Korea. Similarly, after the passing of former South Korean president Kim Dae Jung last week, a high-level North Korean delegation came to the South to offer its condolences and met with President Lee Myung Bak. Continual improvement of the North’s relations with both the U.S. and South Korea are the minimum conditions to bring eventual peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. Read this update by Time magazine’s Bill Powell.

For more on what may be behind North Korea’s actions in recent months, read this excellent analysis by the Asia Foundation’s Scott Snyder.

July 11, 2009

During his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since becoming U.S. President, Barack Obama addressed the Ghanaian parliament in Accra on July 11. In a speech entitled “A New Moment of Promise in Africa,” Obama focused on four key areas critical to the future of Africa and the entire developing world: democracy, opportunity, health, and the peaceful resolution of conflict. In particular, he noted that “Governments that respect the will of their own people are more prosperous, more stable, and more successful than governments that do not.” He added, “With better governance, I have no doubt that Africa holds the promise of a broader base for prosperity.” The President also maintained that Africa’s diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division. Reaching out to Africa’s youth, which comprise the majority of the populations of many sub-Saharan countries, he said: “I am speaking to the young people. You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people.”

Read the full text of the President’s address to the Ghanaian Parliament

June 4, 2009

Today, in Cairo, Egypt, President Barack Obama gave a major address to Muslim communities around the world. Although he did not offer any major initiatives in the Middle East peace process, he addressed seven key issues that he believes the U.S. and Muslim world must work on together. He said, “I’ve come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles — principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.”

Read the full text of the President’s address to the Muslim world

May 11, 2009

The Times Online (London) reported on May 11, “America is putting the final touches to a hugely ambitious peace plan for the Middle East, aimed at ending more than 60 years of conflict between Israel and the Arabs, according to Jordan’s King Abdullah, who is helping to bring the parties together. The Obama Administration is pushing for a comprehensive peace agreement that would include settling Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians and its territorial disputes with Syria and Lebanon, King Abdullah II told The Times. Failure to reach agreement at this critical juncture would draw the world into a new Middle East war next year. ‘If we delay our peace negotiations, then there is going to be another conflict between Arabs or Muslims and Israel in the next 12-18 months,’ the King said.

The Times continued, “The initiative could form the centerpiece for Mr. Obama’s much-anticipated address to the Muslim world in Cairo on June 4. A peace conference could then take place involving all the parties as early as July or August. Such an ambitious project has not been attempted since 1991, when George Bush senior’s Administration assembled all the parties for a peace conference in Madrid….”

Read The Times’ full interview with Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan became the first Arab leader to visit President Obama last week, and gave a major address on “The Middle East: End the Process, Make the Peace” at a Statesmen’s Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on April 24. The King said that “Arabs and Muslims throughout the world took note of the President’s inaugural pledge, for a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest. His out-reach since then has been well received in the Arab world.” He added that, “A high-level US effort is needed to regenerate bilateral negotiations…. Beginning to end, the focus must be a final peace agreement; one that reflects the only viable solution to this conflict … the two-state solution, which will open the door to comprehensive Middle East peace.”

Read the full text of King Abdullah II’s remarks