Refreshing Perspective by Seasoned Diplomat
The UAESBC organised our first webinar version of the UAESBC Breakfast Talk Series featuring renowned diplomat and former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Bilahari Kausikan. The webinar was organised on 10th June and more than 50 participants had first-hand access to H.E. Bilahari's wisdom and wit on the topic of "Geo-Political Trends in the Indo-Pacific". The webinar began with opening remarks from our GOH, the UAE Ambassador to Singapore and the UAESBC Patron, His Excellency Dr Mohamed Omar Balfaqeeh who highlighted the importance of the Indo-Pacific region to the UAE. This was followed by a brief overview of upcoming UAESBC events and an introduction to the speaker by UAESBC President, Dr Brian Shegar. During his presentation, H.E. Bilahari commented on the political impact of the current global pandemic. He shared that "the direct geopolitical impact is not going to be seminal. However it will accentuate and accelerate existing trends in the geopolitical axis between US and China, giving each side a sharper edge with accusations" of mismanagement. He also asserted that neither US nor China will gain any strategic advantage from this pandemic. To watch the full video recording of H.E. Bilahari's interesting and insightful talk including the lively Q&A discussion that ensued, you can click HERE. You can also view photos from the event HERE. Look out for our next webinar in this series which is scheduled to be in early September by Dr Monica Malik, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank's Chief Economist, tackling the topic of "Economic Outlook and Overview of the GCC - Impact of COVID-19".