The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) held its latest board meeting on Sunday, November 23rd in the Spanish city of Cuenca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the outskirts of Madrid.
The main subjects of the meeting included selecting topics for the upcoming issues of CIRSD's quarterly magazine Horizons, discussing themes for future CIRSD conferences in 2015, and designating a number of prestigious publications for release in the coming year.
The board also adopted a comprehensive working plan for 2015, containing a great degree of activities such as publishing four editions of Horizons, organizing four international conferences, releasing three books and establishing cooperation with several globally respected centers and think tanks.
A special working session was dedicated to the recent developments in the Middle East.
A part of the meeting also focused on the work conducted by the United Nations and some of its key events that are expected to take place during 2015. This primarily referred to adopting the post-2015 development agenda and working to achieve a comprehensive global agreement on climate change.
The meeting was attended by Spain’s former Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, professor at the Institute for Global Studies of Geneva University Micheline Calmy-Rey, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kuwait Sheikh Muhammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz, former Foreign Minister of Indonesia Nur Hassan Wirajuda, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States Jose Miguel Insulza, former Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou, and Morocco’s former Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa.
The meeting took place in Cuenca, only a day after CIRSD had co-organized a conference on sustainable and “smart” cities (November 22nd)—one that examined the means by which sustainable development policies, new technologies, and contemporary design can be applied to urban settlements, all while reducing pollution, traffic jams, and the increasingly overwhelming waste of energy. The conference was attended by a great number of local leaders, businessmen, and academics. The occasion was also used for the official inauguration of Spain’s Sustainable Development Network.
Led by Mr. Vuk Jeremić, the CIRSD delegation met with the president and executive director of Elcano Institute on Monday, November 24th in Madrid. On that occasion, the interlocutors agreed to sign a partnership agreement and jointly organize two events in 2015. Jeremić also met senior Spanish officials, presenting them with CIRSD's forthcoming activities and modalities for cooperation on issues of mutual concern.
The CIRSD delegation included Executive Director Zdravko Ponoš, Senior Fellow Damjan Krnjević Mišković, Program Director Nikola Jovanović, and International Relations Advisor Suzana Grubješić.
