Davos: The world needs to be ready to resist increasing protectionism, and to do so the Doha Round of the World Trade Organisation talks must be revived, said Tony Blair, former UK Prime Minister and co-chair of the Davos World Economic Forum, at the opening session of the annual meeting.
He said supporting the Doha Round and more open trade was vital in the much wider context of dealing with the impact of the long-term shift of economic and political power away from the United States and Europe to Asia led by China and India.
The same shift in the world's gravity from the Atlantic region to the Asia-Pacific region was also picked up by Henry Kissinger, chairman of Kissinger Associates.
"It is happening and is a reality", he said, making the point that the present fall in the financial and equity markets is a major test for the new economic balance of the world.
Kissinger also strongly supported putting the Doha Round back on track.
However he added that despite the importance of an open global economy, 2008 will not be a good year to fight for far-sighted economic policies in the US, since the presidential elections are under way and the candidates are all talking more protectionist language.
Indra Nooyi, chairman of PepsiCo, also emphasised the importance of actively reinforcing open markets and globalisation, and she said China and India are well placed to handle the impact of the economic crisis in the US, and both Asian states need to do all thy can to help get the global economy back on track.
K.V. Kamath, managing director of ICICI Bank, also said that Asia is already giving the world's economy important additional depth. "As the USA is suffering and Europe is starting to show signs of downturn, India has not yet been affected," he pointed out.
Another important theme during the opening session was the importance of business and governments being ready to take on their environmental responsibilities.
Blair said 2008 would be vital for the outcome of the Bali talks on climate change, and that it should top the agenda at the G8 meeting in Japan. Kamath also spoke strongly of the need to be prepared to deal with climate change.
David O'Reilly, chairman of Chevron, added that to achieve better environmental practice also required the world to develop much better use of what energy it has.
"The growth in demand is sustained and steady," he said, "yet billions of people are undersupplied with the energy they need for their daily lives."
He linked the need for more responsible use of energy with the alleviation of poverty, which brings substantial social improvement and also supports the global economy.
Spirit of Davos
A final appeal was made by Blair as he argued passionately that despite the current period of substantial global insecurity, in both political and economic areas, people should not lose confidence in getting the long term issues right.
"With the greater insecurity people get frightened and look for leadership. There are pressures to make us all think more short term, but the real answer to all these problems in the world is to open up, to engage, and to work to deal with the big issues like climate change and poverty," he said.
