BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 13. The world must put an end to existing conflicts and come to the negotiation table, said Shafik Gabr, Director of the ARTOC Investment and Development Group at the XII Global Baku Forum in Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
Speaking during a panel discussion on "Geopolitical Shifts: Responsible Partnerships versus Rivalry" at the forum, Gabr highlighted that if the world doesn’t get its act together and put an end to the existing conflicts—more than thirty in total—and if negotiations don’t kick off right away, the fast-paced tech advancements on the horizon could turn these conflicts into a real can of worms, making them impossible to untangle.
"The international institutions created after World War II no longer perform their functions. If political and economic leaders, think tanks, and experts do not begin to act decisively and systematically, the world will continue to slide from the rule of law to the dominance of force," Gabr said.
The official added that there is a noticeable decline in "soft power" and a rise in "hard power."
"We have the UN Security Council, but why, after so many years since World War II, do some countries still have the right to veto? Why can't powerful states unite and push decisions based on democratic voting rather than allowing one country to block the will of the other 190?" Gabr questioned.
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