OPINION, Global Agenda
There is something refreshing about the ebullience of last month’s Asia-Africa summit.

Chandran Nair

Bickering between China and Japan did not weaken the resolve of the presidents, kings and ministers from more than 100 independent countries to put their joined voices towards solving global problems and – importantly – defining them. “Bandung Revisited” offers a rare opportunity for widening international understanding about what are perceived to be global issues, especially in influential bodies such as the World Economic Forum.

At its annual Davos summit in February, the forum identified the 10 biggest risks facing business worldwide.

A critical glance of the list, however, raises several questions. Though in the news lately, the 10 are perhaps foremost only in the minds of people accustomed to a western perspective of world events. Interestingly, they were not the priorities as seen by the leaders of the Asia-African summit; their priorities were far more basic, with a focus on the need for a bigger “voice” from the two continents.

The forum’s 10 are: instability in Iraq; terrorism; emerging fiscal crises; disruption of oil supplies; radical Islam; sudden decline in China’s growth; pandemics – infectious diseases; climate change; weapons of mass destruction; and unrestrained migration and related tensions.

Among them are truly global concerns: climate change, emerging fiscal crises, and a sudden decline in China’s growth.

Weapons of mass destruction should be on the list only if the intent is to eliminate all nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, not just keep them from “rogue elements”.

It is difficult to see how the other points gain entry to the list. There are different viewpoints and concerns held more important by a larger part of the world’s businesses and therefore the communities they serve.

Asia, with more than half the world’s population, is its most dynamic economic region, at its heart Japan and China, with an increasingly confident India.

Living in reasonable harmony are millions of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhist, Taoists, Christians, and among them all, the world’s most populous Islamic nation. For those of us who know, Abu Bakar Bashir is not the face of Indonesia. Indonesia, with the quiet majority of Muslims everywhere, feels just as angered that its religion is being hijacked for political ends.

The best way to test the inclusion of “instability in Iraq”, “disruption of oil supplies”, and “terrorism”, is perhaps to examine a business vulnerable to all three – aviation. Yet, we saw last year, with Iraq at its most unstable, oil prices the highest in decades, and the Middle East aflame, that in Asia and the Middle East air traffic grew 20 per cent.

Thirteen airlines started in Southeast Asia last year, and this year 26 plan to launch. Running parallel is investment in the supporting infrastructure, tourism and related industries.

It would be also prudent to consider the lack of clean water as a greater threat to businesses than “pandemics” and “unrestricted migration”. Water is a finite, essential resource in short supply for which competition grows tighter every year from agriculture, industry, business, everyday uses and for drinking – for survival. More than 1 billion people cannot get it, most are in Africa, South America and Asia. With only contaminated water to drink each year, as many as 5 million die from water-borne diseases.

Foreign policy leaders may want to pause when considering global threats in forming and executing their policies. With the renewed Asia-Africa combined voice, their attempts to make the world a better place will be seen as more sincere – but only if they are willing to listen.

Chandran Nair is founder and chief executive of the Global Institute For Tomorrow, an independent social venture think tank dedicated to advancing understanding of the impacts of globalisation.
www.globalinstitutefortomorrow.org/