Global Europe Summit: green infrastructure matters for the sustainability of resilient communities and economies

Past event HYBRID & LIVESTREAM

Global Europe

23Nov2023

starts 15:00

ends 17:00

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🔴 WATCH: Global Europe Summit: green infrastructure matters for the sustainability of resilient communities and economies

A more sustainable, climate-friendly world order would lead to a significantly more secure world, high-impact speakers argued at Friends of Europe’s Global Europe Summit.

“If there’s something the EU has learned, it’s that putting a price on things matters,” said Jorge Moreira da Silva, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS). He pointed out that Europe is not on track to meet its climate goals and is overall off track when it comes to financing social development.

The war in Gaza was also a topic of discussion, with Saja Majali, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Jordan to Belgium, the EU, NATO and Luxembourg, saluting the courage of the UN and other international organisations that have stayed in Gaza “to assist civilian people that are under constant shelling.”

Jean Van Wetter, Managing Director of the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel), called attention to the need for a different way of thinking about international cooperation: “The narrative has to change, we should stop speaking about the South and the North. We should speak instead about a common investment for the future. The term ‘recipient country’ is not appropriate anymore, we are all partners.”

Appearing over videocall, Hirut Zemene Kassa, Ambassador of Ethiopia to the Benelux Countries and the EU Institutions, echoed the call for a redesign of global cooperation.

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Prior to assuming her current role, Saja Mjali served as Secretary-General at the Jordan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In her diplomatic career, Majali has also previously held the positions of Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Political Officer in charge of Disarmament Affairs and Peace and Security, and Political Officer in charge of the Commission on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs.

Before joining UNOPS, Jorge Moreira da Silva built up an extensive portfolio working in the public and development sectors, with a strong focus on climate change, energy and the environment. Notably, he directed the Development Co-operation Directorate at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and served as the Portuguese minister for the environment, territorial planning and energy. Formerly, as a member of the European Parliament, he authored the legislation that created the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme.

In his current role as Managing Director of Enabel, Van Wetter leads on the implementation of Belgium’s bilateral cooperation policies. Together with its Belgian and international partners, Enabel provides solutions to urgent global challenges, such as climate change, peace and security, social and economic inequality, and human mobility, and promotes global citizenship. Under his leadership, Enabel manages some 170 projects in 20 countries across Africa and the Middle East, as well as in Belgium itself. Van Wetter started his career as a strategy consultant for Arthur Andersen before moving into the international cooperation sector.

Before assuming her current post, Hirut Zemene Kassa held several ministerial positions, serving as the state minister for political affairs, specifically focused on Africa, the Middle East and public diplomacy, and as the state minister for political affairs in charge of all bilateral and multilateral matters. Prior to this, she occupied various positions in the Ethiopian diplomatic corps.

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