AMMAN – The
renowned CUTS International has recently hosted a highly anticipated webinar
titled "Trump 2.0 and the Indo-Pacific: Navigating Stormy Waters or
Charting a New Course?" The event brought together global experts,
policymakers, and thought leaders to assess the implications of President
Donald Trump's second term on the geopolitics, trade, and security frameworks
of the Indo-Pacific region.
The webinar featured a
distinguished panel of speakers, including Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, whose deeply
insightful contributions underscored the importance of a collective approach to
addressing global challenges. He emphasized the necessity of a "World
First" approach, to tackle issues on a global scale, rather than the
protectionist leanings that recent US decisions are driving countries to
consider.
Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh proposed “a
panel of leaders, experts from business, non-government, and other sectors who
can sit together to find solutions and proposals for the entire world to save
the world mission.”
He went onto say, “I have
warned that this year will be the start of many crises in the world that will
accelerate. President Trump can do a lot in six years due to his executive
orders which are his weapons that he can use without referring to Congress. We
need a world that recognizes peace is basic, but peace cannot be established
without fairness, and fairness must be the basis on which the world operates.
We are living in a world now where there is no fairness and there will be no
peace. We need a new world order. We need a replacement to the UN.”
The webinar also prominently
featured insights from Mr. Pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the World
Trade Organization, who cautioned against the US distancing itself from the
WTO, which would shape global trade rules in unpredictable ways and have major
consequences for global trade rules.
The discussions underscored
the importance of collective security, regional cooperation, and the need for
Indo-Pacific countries to adapt to the evolving geopolitical landscape under
Trump's second term. Many other experts outlined policy recommendations to help
regional economies and governments navigate these changes and the challenges
that Trump’s current trajectory poses to international trade and global
prosperity.
In his concluding remarks, Dr.
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh emphasized the critical need for a united global effort,
stating, "We need to predict the future and not just wait for it. The
solution to our concerns as a working group of leaders is to come up with a
plan for a new world model. The current model is done. Let us think of a new
order where we have fairness, justice and democracy for everybody to be subjected
to the same rules.”
He went onto say, “If we
produce such a model, we can offer it to the world and it will not be possible
for the US not to be part of it if its concerns are addressed.”
Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh also
mentioned his new book on developing a new fairer world order which will be
published in the near future.
The webinar concluded with a
call to Indo-Pacific countries to explore alternative economic partnerships and
to strengthen regional security cooperation, to maintain stability in the face
of rising US protectionism, and to encourage continued bilateral diplomacy
among all nations.