Webinar : Political Economy in the North-South relations amid COVID-19

May 22, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic poses unprecedented challenges to the international community and is due to heavily impact the global economy in the short and long run. The virus has infected over 4 million people and caused almost 300.000 casualties globally. During its spreading, mass production hastily witnessed shutdowns and supply chain disruptions, causing worldwide undulation effects encompassing all economic sectors. A steep contraction in household consumption, rising inflation and unemployment rates, and an abrupt halt in global tourism are some of its most visible consequences. Resilience of national economies vis-à-vis the current situation varies widely depending on many factors, including containment measures’ efficiency and effectiveness as well as the economic support governments consider deploying. Yet, the highly interconnectedness of the world means that fighting the virus – and navigating its economic consequences – must include both national measures and global ones. In this webinar, we reflect on alternative options for economic recovery. Trade agreements, debt relief measures, impact investments, green strategies – these are just some of the instruments available in the toolbox. The panel will address ways in which existing and new channels for cooperation between the global north and south can be leveraged to achieve the best possible way out of the crisis, with a long-term outlook on what kind of global economy we want to rebuild.

Speakers
Otaviano Canuto
Senior Fellow
Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, Affiliate Professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Brookings Institute. Former Vice President and Executive Director at the World Bank, Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Vice President at the Inter-American Development Bank. ...
Rym Ayadi
Founder and Scientific Director, Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association
Rym Ayadi is the Founder and President of the Euro – Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA). She is Founder and Director of the Euro-Mediterranean and African Network for Economic Studies (EMANES). She is Senior Advisor at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS); Professor at the Bayes Business School, City University of London and Member of the Centre for Banking Research (CBR); Chair of the European Banking Authority – Banking Stakeholders Group (EBA- BSG). She is also Associated Scholar at the Centre for Relationship Banking and Economics (CERBE) at LUMSA University in Rome. ...
Len Ishmael
Senior Fellow
Ambassador Dr. Len Ishmael is an affiliate Professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University teaching the MSc course New South Dynamics, as well as Geopolitics and Geo-economics in the Joint HEC Paris/Public Policy School Executive Program. She is a Senior Fellow of the Policy Center for the New South, Distinguished Visiting Scholar of the German Marshall Fund of the United States of America and a Senior Fellow of the European Centre for Development Policy Management. Dr. Ishmael is the Global Affairs Advisor and Head of the Expert Groups of the Brussels Diplomatic Academy of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). She is the former Ambassador of the Eastern Caribbean States to the Kingdom of Belgium and European Union, past President of the 79-member African, Caribbean & Paci ...
Ian Lesser
Vice President; Executive Director, Transatlantic Center, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Brussels
Staff Expert Ian Lesser Vice President, Foreign Policy; Executive Director, Transatlantic Center Brussels Expertise: Policy, NATO / Mediterranean & Middle Eastern Affairs / North-South Relations / Terrorism / Proliferation / International Security & Geopolitics / Energy Related Topics: Security and Defense, European Union, Wider Atlantic, Mediterranean , Mediterranean Strategy Group, Turkey, Grexit, NATO, NATO and the Mediterranean, Understanding America Ian Lesser is vice president for Foreign Policy at The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and a member of GMF’s executive team, managing programs across the organization. He also serves as executive director of the Transatlantic Center, the Brussels office of GMF, and leads GMF’s work on the Mediterranean ...
Megan Richards
Visiting Senior Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States
...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    January 30, 2015
    “In my view, China’s very high rates of saving and of investment in infrastructure, plant and equipment, Rand D, and human capital should be seen more as a source of strength, than of weakness. There has, of course, been overinvestment in some sectors, such as heavy industry and housing in some regions, but China’s GDP and infrastructure stock per capita is still just a fraction of that of the most advanced countries, and the country’s potential to catch-up remains largely unexploit ...
  • Authors
    Mohamed Mouline
    January 1, 2014
    L’Afrique du Sud est une république fédérale, fondée sur une démocratie parlementaire. Avec une superficie de 1,2 million de km² et une population de 50 millions d’habitants, elle est la première puissance économique du continent africain, représentant, à elle seule, 30 % du PIB de l’Afrique Subsaharienne et 66 % de celui de l’Afrique Australe. Son PIB est de 420 milliards de dollars et son PIB par habitant est de 5 860 dollars. Ce pays est parvenu à réinsérer son économie dans les ...
  • Authors
    Ian Lesser
    November 18, 2013
    This policy brief argues for a closer relationship between Morocco and the United States. Morocco’s geo-economic position is evolving in ways that will shape U.S. and international interests in the country and open new avenues for cooperation. Key drivers of change in this context include Morocco’s stake in greater economic integration in the Maghreb, a growing role in Africa, new energy and infrastructure projects, and the emergence of Morocco as a hub for communications around th ...
  • Authors
    Françoise Nicolas
    January 1, 2011
    La montée en puissance de la Chine et de l’Inde domine les débats économiques depuis quelques années déjà. Poursuivant une stratégie d’internationalisation résolue, les entreprises chinoises et indiennes sont désormais présentes dans bon nombre de régions du globe. Ce dynamisme n’a pas manqué de susciter des inquiétudes mais aussi des espoirs, notamment dans le monde en développement, où ces deux pays sont perçus comme des partenaires potentiellement plus bienveillants que les pays ...