It is with great pleasure that I welcome back into the Virtual Studio, Homi Kharas. I wanted to explore with him the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the halfway point for their completion. I was looking for his assessment of current progress especially after he, John W McArthur, and Odera Onyechi published a new Report at Brookings: “How is the world doing on the SDGs? Four tests and eight findings”. 

Also, I wanted to get his views of what we can expect at the upcoming UN Summit of the Future, scheduled for September 22nd and 23rd in New York during the High Level Panel Week. This Summit is the second of two Summits called for by the current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 

Homi is a senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development, housed in the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings. In that capacity, he studies policies and trends influencing developing countries, including aid to poor countries, the emergence of the middle class, and global governance and the G20.

His most recent co-authored/edited books are: “The Rise of the Middle Class: How the Search for the Good Life Can Change the World” (2023), “Breakthrough: The Promise of Frontier Technologies for Sustainable Development” edited with John McArthur and Izumi Ohno (2022) and “Leave No One Behind: From Summits to Solutions: Time for Specifics on the Sustainable Development Goals" edited with John McArthur and Izumi Ohno (2019).

Summit Dialogue S2, Ep 6: Kharas on the Sustainable Development Goals and UN Summit of the Future

This podcast interview with Danny Bradlow is the accompanying podcast to Danny's article, "Lessons from the Frontlines: What I Learned from My Participation in the G20". This article is the first in a series of examinations of former officials and others who have been directly involved in the workings of global summitry. The 'Summit Dialogue' series is intended to give us insights into how current global summitry actually makes, or fails to make, policy at the global governance level. Danny was the first head of the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) International Economic Relations and Policy Department. In this capacity, Danny represented the SARB in G20 and BRICS meetings during approximately two years ending in October 2014.  Enjoy both the article and the podcast.

Shaking the Global Order, Ep. 2: Danny Bradlow on South Africa's Participation in the G20

The spread of Covid-19 across the globe dominates policy making everywhere. States have responded in a variety of ways; the consequences for these states are varying population spread and death tolls.  Though the virus began in China some of the most serious consequences have been felt in Europe particularly in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. 

It was my pleasure to invite into the virtual studio Torrey Taussig. I was particularly keen to discuss with her the efforts of the EU 27 and the European Commission to adopt collective European efforts to combat the virus. Torrey was with us at our virtual conference at Boston University in March hosted by the Global Development Policy Center (#GDP). There we launched the China-West Dialogue to discuss the future of global governance in the context of Covid-19 and other challenges, such as climate change. The virtual workshop was well attended and featured a keynote introduction by The Right Honourable Paul Martin. The former Canadian Prime Minister called on the #G20 to tackle climate change and the pandemic, noting that now is not the time to forsake multilateralism.

Torrey is currently a non-resident fellow in the Foreign Policy Program’s Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings. She is also a research director of the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School. Torrey focuses her research attention on U.S. foreign policy as well as European and Asian security issues.

Join us in our discussion on the European response to Covid-19.

‘Now', Ep.19: Torrey Taussig on Europe’s Response to Covid-19

Join Professor Alan Alexandroff as he interviews fellow academics, policymakers, and former officials about global governance and the contemporary global order.

Summit Dialogue S2, Ep 6: Kharas on the Sustainable Development Goals and UN Summit of the Future

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