The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) had an exclusive privilege to co-organize this year's prestigious Assilah International Forum, held annually in the Moroccan town of Assilah. The Assilah Forum has been held for more than 35 years, and has so far assembled distinguished policy makers, diplomats and businessmen from all corners of Europe, Africa and Asia.
The guiding theme of this year’s forum was “Sustainable Development in Difficult Times: The Role of Multilateral Organizations." At the onset of the keynote part of the event, CIRSD President Vuk Jeremić addressed the audience alongside the Secretary General of the Forum and Morocco's former Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa, Niger's Development Minister Amadou Allahoury, and the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz.
Jeremic pointed out the paradox in contemporary international relations, reflected in the fact that the world has never been more technologically and economically interdependent, yet is being exposed to a growing number of conflicts. “Simultaneously with unfolding international conflicts threatening to pull the entire world into a large scale crisis, we are facing economic stagnation, growing social disparities and degradation of natural resources and the environment. This requires a new approach to governance in international relations, and a reform of international organizations”, Jeremić said.
He also underscored that the crisis in Ukraine has impeded the work of the UN Security Council, thus sparking mutual mistrust of its key members, and added how that will affect every globally pressing issue, ranging from Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the nuclear program of Iran. Jeremić spoke about two crucial upcoming UN conferences in December 2015 that will have a far-reaching consequences for the fate of the planet: the 21st session of the Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris, and the adoption of sustainable development goals (SDG) in the scope of the post-2015 development agenda.
Jeremić said that it was critical to establish a minimum of good will and understanding for the importance of the abovementioned events, and reiterated how significant it would be for the key stakeholders to agree on a consensual way forward on the matter. He noted that the responsibility of the UN remains enormous and underlined the necessity for a strong leadership with vision, which would ensure the organization’s ability to adequately respond to the growing challenges of the 21st century.
During the Assilah Forum, Jeremić also took part in a panel on the future of the UN, moderated by Italy’s former Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. In his remarks, Jeremić outlined a number of suggestions explaining how to revitalize the UN. They pertained to improving the mechanism of cooperation between the UN and the G20, raising the level of transparency within the organization, as well as assuming leadership in implementing new global development strategy. The panel's other renowned participants included former Cypriot Foreign Minister and European Commissioner, Markos Kyprianou and Denmark’s former Foreign Minister, Per Stig Møller.
CIRSD President Vuk Jeremić was accompanied by Senior Fellow Damjan Krnjević Mišković and Program Director Nikola Jovanović.
