At the G20 Summit in November 2008, governments representing 85% of the world economy pledged to work together to restore global growth.
Where does this pledge stand today and what are the next steps to revive global growth?
Panelists
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico
Han Seung-Soo, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea
Kgalema Motlanthe, President of South Africa
This panel is chaired by Fareed Zakaria, Editor, Newsweek International, USA.
Sort of a sparse panel to discuss Latin America but that might be because of all regions of the world, none has more vociferously rejected neo-liberalism than Latin America. Where it not for neo-liberalism, there would be no Hugo Chavez. One failure begets another it seems.
The panel on Latin America:
José Miguel Insulza. A member of Chile’s Socialist Party—part of a moderate coalition of democratic parties—Insulza has held a number of high-level government posts. Under the presidency of Patricio Aylwin, Insulza served as Chilean Ambassador for International Cooperation, Director of Multilateral Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Vice President of the International Cooperation Agency. He is currently the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States.
Felipe Calderón Hinojosa. The President of Mexico and a member of the conservative pro-business Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) which has ruled Mexico since 2000.
Álvaro Uribe Vélez. The President of Colombia. Mr. Uribe is head of a national unity government but hails from the neo-liberal wing of the Colombian Liberal Party. His term expires in August 2010.
The panel is moderated by Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, the former President of Mexico (1994 to 2000). He is currently the Director of the Center For The Study Of Globalization at Yale University. He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations.
This week, Iraqis are preparing to go to the polls with high hopes. More that 14,000 candidates — including nearly 4,000 women — are running for provincial councils in elections across the country on Saturday.
Despite increased security, the campaign has been marred by violence. Six candidates have been assassinated. Still, many observers say this campaign shows significant improvements over that of 2005. Early voting went smoothly and Sunni Arabs are expected to turn out in large numbers, unlike the last election.
Michael Wahid Hanna, a specialist on the Middle East and international security at the Century Foundation, discusses what is at stake in the elections and what they mean for Iraq’s future.
From the World Economic Forum in Davos, a panel on global food security.
The Panelists
Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General
William H. Gates III, founder and former CEO of Microsoft Corporation, current Chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Irene B. Rosenfeld, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of Kraft Foods
Michael Treschow, Chairman of the Board of Unilever, Ericsson and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand
This panel is moderated by Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Previously, Ms. Sheeran served in the US State Department and as Deputy US Trade Representative.
The Rwandan army plans to send thousands of troops across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo to disarm Hutu rebels.
The Rwandan Hutu fighters fled to the DR Congo after the 1994 genocide during which they killed more than half a million Rwandan Tutsi and moderate Hutus.
Al Jazeera’s Yvonne Ndege has this exclusive report.