Dear editor:
I refer to the article titled "2014 could be game-changing year" (KT, Opinion, Jan. 16)
There is no doubt that 2014 will be an agitated election period worldwide. Parliamentary elections in Thailand scheduled for Feb. 2 will be an early test for the viability of the process of democracy in Southeast Asia. Elections in many other countries will have a strong political impact on the future of international relations at the regional and global levels.
The year 2014 will be also a year of intensified bilateral and multilateral diplomacy which will influence domestic policies in numerous countries.
Is it possible to be optimistic about 2014? It is difficult to formulate a positive answer knowing that the world community of nations inherited from 2013 the risks of imminent or impending wars, of civil and sectarian bloodshed and strife between and within states, the threats of natural disasters, abject poverty and malnutrition, of gender violence and deadly climate change consequences.
More than 7 billion people inhabit the planet Earth which offers the image of a common boat on which 195 states are navigating day by day being animated by the legitimate aspiration of reaching a destination of universal peace and global prosperity.
In an optimistic vision of the future we can hope that all peoples of the world will finally understand the necessity of navigating in accordance with the requirements of global solidarity which is an imperative precondition for realizing their dreams and guaranteeing their own survival.
However, 2014 will be an uneasy period for all. Local, national, regional and planetary threats have reached unprecedented proportions. Focal points of violence and civil strife are more frequent than in the past, the respect for international law is in an alarming decline.
Therefore, forecasting and preventing global threats and overcoming their potential adverse effects must be a top priority for current multilateral diplomacy at the United Nations, within regional institutions, as well as for the members of the G8 and G20 which will have their regular summit meetings in 2014.
The list of burning issues on which responsible multilateral negotiations are expected to take place and to lead to win-win situations is impressive. Starting with sustainable development and nuclear disarmament and continuing with fighting drug trafficking, combating terrorism and extremism, settling peacefully regional conflicts and disputes, safeguarding health, addressing risks generated by natural and man-made disasters, stimulating economic growth, reducing unemployment, removing protectionism in trade, this list will become longer and longer over the years.
Finding successful solutions on all these issues demands a navigation guided by the determination to cope with unexpected barriers and untested obstructions. As specialists in navigation assert, "You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there." This elementary truth is fundamental in multilateral diplomacy which has to be characterized by lucidity, pragmatism and openness. The objectives facing it are gigantic and the difficulties to be overcome are immense.
No navigator can guarantee the capacity of leading the ship Earth into an annus mirabilis.
However, using a peace-oriented bilateral and multilateral diplomacy the world community of nations can navigate through the troubled waters of 2014 with a natural expectation of reaching a more inspiring destination for the years to come.
Ioan Voicu
Bangkok
I refer to the article titled "2014 could be game-changing year" (KT, Opinion, Jan. 16)
There is no doubt that 2014 will be an agitated election period worldwide. Parliamentary elections in Thailand scheduled for Feb. 2 will be an early test for the viability of the process of democracy in Southeast Asia. Elections in many other countries will have a strong political impact on the future of international relations at the regional and global levels.
The year 2014 will be also a year of intensified bilateral and multilateral diplomacy which will influence domestic policies in numerous countries.
Is it possible to be optimistic about 2014? It is difficult to formulate a positive answer knowing that the world community of nations inherited from 2013 the risks of imminent or impending wars, of civil and sectarian bloodshed and strife between and within states, the threats of natural disasters, abject poverty and malnutrition, of gender violence and deadly climate change consequences.
More than 7 billion people inhabit the planet Earth which offers the image of a common boat on which 195 states are navigating day by day being animated by the legitimate aspiration of reaching a destination of universal peace and global prosperity.
In an optimistic vision of the future we can hope that all peoples of the world will finally understand the necessity of navigating in accordance with the requirements of global solidarity which is an imperative precondition for realizing their dreams and guaranteeing their own survival.
However, 2014 will be an uneasy period for all. Local, national, regional and planetary threats have reached unprecedented proportions. Focal points of violence and civil strife are more frequent than in the past, the respect for international law is in an alarming decline.
Therefore, forecasting and preventing global threats and overcoming their potential adverse effects must be a top priority for current multilateral diplomacy at the United Nations, within regional institutions, as well as for the members of the G8 and G20 which will have their regular summit meetings in 2014.
The list of burning issues on which responsible multilateral negotiations are expected to take place and to lead to win-win situations is impressive. Starting with sustainable development and nuclear disarmament and continuing with fighting drug trafficking, combating terrorism and extremism, settling peacefully regional conflicts and disputes, safeguarding health, addressing risks generated by natural and man-made disasters, stimulating economic growth, reducing unemployment, removing protectionism in trade, this list will become longer and longer over the years.
Finding successful solutions on all these issues demands a navigation guided by the determination to cope with unexpected barriers and untested obstructions. As specialists in navigation assert, "You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there." This elementary truth is fundamental in multilateral diplomacy which has to be characterized by lucidity, pragmatism and openness. The objectives facing it are gigantic and the difficulties to be overcome are immense.
No navigator can guarantee the capacity of leading the ship Earth into an annus mirabilis.
However, using a peace-oriented bilateral and multilateral diplomacy the world community of nations can navigate through the troubled waters of 2014 with a natural expectation of reaching a more inspiring destination for the years to come.
Ioan Voicu
Bangkok
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