Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Dr. Mohammed AlSabah stressed here today that the need has become urgent to shift from preventive diplomacy to economic diplomacy that looks to maximize benefits, increase the margin of political maneuver and build economic alliances.
Mohammed said in the paper he presented to the conference (Developing Countries and the World Trade Organization, reality and challenges), which was held under the patronage of H.H. Prime Minister Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah, that the entitlements resulting from entering the globalization space for Kuwait has forced it to shift from the preventive diplomacy it has pursued for decades to economic diplomacy to build economic relations with blocs that have influence and weight in the international economic arena.
"The biggest challenge is not isolation and closure, but how to reform the international trade system so that globalization is a good factor and not a scourge on the developing world and a source of support for democracies, comprehensive development, environmental protection and human rights." He pointed out that "the opportunity is now ripe for developing countries to engage in the world of globalization and contribute effectively in reforming, refining and developing the new rules of the game, not only for their benefit but for humanity in general.
He pointed out that the work in the triangle of institutions (Bretton Woods), the World Trade Organization was successful and the mechanism of the system of resolving trade issues between members was tested on January 23, 1995, 23 days after its establishment, indicating that the dispute was then between the United States and Venezuela over oil derivatives and the judicial court ruling came in favor of Venezuela in this dispute. Mohammed explained that the multiple benefits in the era of globalization are represented in the direct interference and mutual influence between politics and economy in the new world order and it is rare that there is a meeting of foreign ministers that does not contain an economic agenda or an economic agreement that does not follow an economic agenda.
He said that the reform of the international financial system has become directly related to the issue of terrorism, as the United States completely refused to disclose the secrecy of bank accounts before the events of September 11 and after it became one of the most advocates for the abolition of that secrecy. "The historic visit by His Highness the Prime Minister Sabah Al-Ahmad AlSabah to East Asian countries during last summer announced the end of an era and the inauguration of another new era, whose broad title is the economic diplomatic strategy," he added.
It is noteworthy that the conference, which is held under the title (Developing Countries and the World Trade Organization - Future Prospects), concluded its work this evening and included 32 working papers that included topics explaining the organization's agreements and the mechanisms through which countries join it and intellectual scientific papers that discuss the fate and position of the organization after 10 years and what it will become.