TIANJEN: The world is facing the “most complex” geopolitical situation seen in decades, the head of the World Economic Forum (WEF) told AFP Tuesday, warning that turmoil was “impacting global growth.”
“It is the most complex geopolitical and geo-economic backdrop we’ve seen in decades,” WEF President and CEO Borge Brende said ahead of a meeting of the multilateral forum in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin.
“If we are not able to revive growth again, we can unfortunately see a decade of lower growth,” he warned.
Officials including Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will attend this week’s WEF meeting in the port city of Tianjin — known colloquially as the “Summer Davos.”
The meeting comes hard on the heels of the United States’ involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict and follows months in which the global economy has been battered by a tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump.
Brende told AFP it was still too soon to predict the impact of Trump’s swingeing tariffs.
It is “too early to say what these tariffs will end with because the negotiations are still ongoing,” he said.
“I think the jury is still out, but the traditional globalization we saw is now changed into a different system,” he said.
“That is a new chapter... especially since trade was the engine of growth.”
Brende also warned mounting conflict could have a “very negative impact” on global growth.
World facing ‘most complex’ situation in decades: WEF
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World facing ‘most complex’ situation in decades: WEF
Pakistan, Afghanistan exchange heavy fire along border, officials say
- Mujahid said Pakistani forces launched attacks in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province
- “Pakistan remains fully alert and committed to ensuring its territorial integrity and the safety of our citizens,” Zaidi said
KABUL: Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged heavy fire along their border late on Friday, officials from both countries said, amid heightened tensions following failed peace talks earlier this week.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces launched attacks in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province. A spokesman for Pakistan’s Prime Minister accused Afghan forces of “unprovoked firing” along the Chaman border.
“Pakistan remains fully alert and committed to ensuring its territorial integrity and the safety of our citizens,” spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi said in a statement.
The exchange came two days after a new round of peace talks between the South Asian neighbors
ended without a breakthrough, though both sides agreed to continue their fragile ceasefire.
The talks in Saudi Arabia last weekend were the latest in a series of meetings hosted by Qatar, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia aimed at cooling tensions following deadly border clashes in October.
At the heart of the dispute, Islamabad says Afghan-based militants have carried out recent attacks in Pakistan, including suicide bombings involving Afghan nationals. Kabul denies the charge, saying it cannot be held responsible for security inside Pakistan.
Dozens were killed in October’s clashes, the worst violence on the border since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021.
