12th edition of the World Policy Conference, Marrakesh International Conference
Founded in 2008 by Thierry de Montbrial, Chairman of the French Institute of Foreign Relations (Ifri), the World Policy Conference (WPC) will be holding its twelfth edition from October 12-14, 2019, in Marrakesh, Morocco. In 2019, the city of Marrakesh will host the World Policy Conference for the fourth time since its creation in 2008. Beyond the close diplomatic ties between France and Morocco, the choice of this host country reflects the increasingly important role that the African continent is expected to play on the global geopolitical scene.
The WPC's mission is to reflect upon and to come up with solutions to the constant upheavals of today’s world and to create lasting bonds between the participants. This international conference gives a voice to political, economic, academic and media players from over 40 countries - from major powers to medium and small countries, including emerging countries, thus ensuring a diversity and plurality of debates.
More than 250 international leading figures will participate, including: Paul Kagame (President of the Republic of Rwanda), Macky Sall (President of the Republic of Senegal), Amadou Gon Coulibaly (Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire), Arkebe Oqubay (Senior Minister and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia), Enrico Letta (Senior Minister and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia), Aminata Touré (president of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council of Senegal, former Prime Minister of Senegal), Laurent Fabius (President of the Constitutional Council, former Prime Minister of France), Kevin Rudd (President of the Asia Society Policy Institute, former Prime Minister of Australia), Hubert Védrine (former Minister of Foreign Affairs of France), Olivier Blanchard (former President of the American Economic Association, former Chief Economist at the IMF), Jean-Claude Trichet (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bruegel, European Chairman of the Trilateral Commission, former President of the ECB), Mohamed Ibn Chambas (Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa), Patrick Pouyanné (CEO of Total) and Jean-Paul Agon (Chairman and CEO of L’Oréal).
The work of this twelfth edition will cover issues such as technology in society and in politics, cyber powers, the cyber threat, energy, the environment, world political economic outlook, trade, direct investment, Trust, the future of the international monetary system, the weaponization of Law and globalization. The following topics will also be discussed: Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and especially North/West Africa, new foreign policy trends in East Asia, and many further topics.
More information - www.worldpolicyconference.com
Opening speech of the 12th WPC, Thierry de Montbrial, 12 October 2018, Marrakesh, Morocco
Watch the World Policy Conference live from Marrakesh on youtube
