Morning Multilateralism
Thursday, July 23 2020
For the first time in the organization’s history, the United Nations General Assembly will hold its annual meeting virtually. According to a letter from the General Assembly president, world leaders will provide pre-recorded speeches, which will then be played in the General Assembly hall.
During a visit to London, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo once again attacked the World Health Organization. In his remarks, Pompeo reportedly blamed the organization for Covid-19 deaths in Britain and said that the 2017 election of WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was the result of a “deal” with Beijing.
In a speech to the European Parliament, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen celebrated the EU’s recent agreement allowing the Commission to borrow on behalf of the bloc as a whole:
Europe can see now dawn turning into light. This week, not only taboos and perceptions have been cast aside, but one big watershed for our Union has been crossed. By standing united – 27 Member States backing the Commission – we raise money on the capital market to fight the worst economic crisis ever – together.
Von der Leyen did warn that future EU budgets would have to be lean. The EU’s science and space budgets, for example, are set to be slashed.
African Union-sponsored talks on a contentious Nile dam project appear to have bought Egypt and Ethiopia time to reduce tensions. Via Bloomberg:
The nations pledged to give lawyers and other experts involved more time to discuss the agreement on how quickly the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’s 74 billion cubic-meter reservoir can be filled, given the potential effect it will have on water flow through Sudan to Egypt. “It feels like they’ve kicked the can down the road,” said Louw Nel, a political analyst at Paarl, South Africa-based NKC.
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to London offers thoughts on the country’s presidency of the G20:
We have an opportunity to put forward to the world a Muslim perspective, a young developing nation’s perspective, and a Middle Eastern perspective. This is something that hasn’t happened before.
Saudi Arabia assumed leadership of the G20 in December 2019, and a leaders’ summit is scheduled for November in Riyadh. Italy and then India are next in line to lead the grouping.
In a recent interview, Germany’s foreign minister said that the Trump administration’s idea of moving U.S. troops from Germany is not a cause for concern—so long as the forces remain within the NATO area:
If they [the troops] stay in Europe, then this remains a commitment towards NATO. But if they were to be restationed in the Indo-Pacific region, then that would indicate a change to US strategy, which then would spark a debate within NATO.
The leaders of four German states that host U.S. forces have a different view and have urged the U.S. Congress to intervene.
The World Trade Organization is ready to launch a new round of talks aimed at reducing fisheries subsidies, which are blamed for encouraging overfishing. In a recent report, the Pew Charitable Trusts described the impact of subsidies:
[G]overnments pay more than $22 billion a year in damaging types of subsidies, known as capacity-enhancing subsidies, to offset costs such as fuel, gear, and vessel construction. By artificially reducing the cost of fishing, they allow primarily large, industrial fishing boats to overexploit fish populations. The influx of money from these subsidies allows fleets to operate at overcapacity, meaning that they can fish longer and farther from the coastline, thus encroaching on the ocean’s finite fish supply.
Very briefly noted:
Laurent Gbagbo, the former president of Cote d’Ivoire, was recently acquitted by the International Criminal Court. Now his political party wants him to run for office.
In a new report, the UN Development Programme advocates a “temporary basic income” for the world’s poorest.
The Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the World Bank team up on loan to Georgia.