During the annual return day for officials from International Financial Institutions (IFIs), Michaloliákos, together with former ambassador Ed Kronenburg, gave a lecture on the geo-economic challenges of the fragmenting world order and the role that the Netherlands can play in this through institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Investment Bank (EIB). He did so at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.
The central questions were: What are the geo-economic implications of the fragmenting world order? How can the Netherlands respond to this through IFIs?
Two worlds with completely different sets of values, terms and units of measurement are coming together in these times. Economics and geopolitics: geo-economics. Incommensurability (mutual incomparability and incomprehensibility) lurks around every corner. Michaloliákos discussed at length how this incommensurability can be overcome and how the Netherlands can strengthen its position through IFIs.
The three tips of the veil:
1️⃣ Combine free trade agreements with strategic investments (FDI). Successful free trade agreements and robust production chains depend on targeted investment – this should not be left to market logic alone.
2️⃣Use IFIs as leverage for private investment. By unlocking private FDI and deploying it in other country blocs, economic diversification can be promoted, which strengthens local institutions and democratisation.
3️⃣ Opt for strategic interdependence rather than strategic autonomy. In a connected world, it is all about economic complementarity within and between trading blocs such as Mercosur, the African Union and ASEAN. This can reduce dependence on China and the US.
According to Michaloliákos, this approach can contribute to a more balanced global geo-economic model, a healthier geopolitical ecosystem and the strengthening of multilateralism. At a time when unilateral powers threaten to dictate the terms of sovereignty sacrifice, he advocated for a powerful multilateral alternative of democratic middle powers.
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