Chief Executive Abdullah after arriving in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum 2019 announced that he attended the inauguration ceremony along with other world leaders, “Looking forward to a successful summit with positive outcomes to prevent crises & support the needy”.
He later wrote that he “Had a refreshing discussion with HE Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum. Thanked him for their work and dedication to a better world. We discussed ways of mutual cooperation, & the current situation in Afghanistan.”
CE Abdullah later addressed the WEF2019 session titled ‘Peace & Reconciliation in a Multipolar World.’ He stressed that “Polarity in international system does not necessarily change imperatives of genuine national peace and reconciliation programme in any given country.”
He continued “We cannot do away with the processes, practices and mechanisms that uphold the values of justice, truth, repentance, empathy, victim identification and empowerment, and democracy, simply because of a change in the nature of the international political system.”
Dr Abdullah added that “We need to develop the conceptual frameworks in international relations to protect national peace and reconciliation programmes from the harmful effects of what follows from a multipolar global system in terms of state interaction.”
He pointed that the “balance of power politics”, deemed to follow most readily from a multipolar international system, can pose a “grave threat” to genuine national peace and reconciliation programmes.
At this session, he conceded that the states must guard against perpetrators of heinous crimes manipulating interstate rivalries to seek legitimacy & power at the expense of victims, thereby setting the scene for further conflict, repression and erosion of the values upon which sustainable peace could be built.
Dr Abdullah also had a meeting with Takehiko Nakao, the President of Asian Development Bank, and he wrote on Twitter “We are thankful to Asian Development Bank for supporting Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development.”
Dr Abdullah also attended the WEF 2019 panel discussion titled ‘Strategic Update on South Asia.’ There he stressed that it is “Unacceptable for South Asia (home to 35% of global poverty) to remain world’s least integrated region. Afghanistan uniquely positioned to unlock South Asia’s huge economic potential.”
He emphasised that manmade barriers to intraregional trade deny the people of South Asia the “fruits of awe-inspiring technological developments and innovation since decolonisation of the region”.
He pointed how countries should not have to bulk-trade through air corridors or circuitous routes when there are cheaper alternatives, “We must overcome false conceptions of security, where transit countries render the prosperity of our peoples beholden to the legacies of past conflicts.”
He concluded that “We must free the rationale of strong trade and economic ties from the clutches of narrowly defined security-centric conceptions in our relations”.
