10 international conferences during 2022

A new start for international diplomacy in light of the pandemic

  • Frequent climate change conferences have not achieved their goals.

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  • Annalina Birbock called on the G7 to act decisively rather than simply respond.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has postponed global conferences and undermined leaders' ability to act on issues that endanger the safety, security, and well-being of every nation's citizens, including climate change, biodiversity loss, intellectual property rules and nuclear risks.

The unprecedented joint health and economic crisis is also exacerbating divisions between developing and developed countries, amid increasingly polarized competition between the United States and China, and the escalation of Russian aggression, according to a report by the American Council on Foreign Relations.

Despite some minor successes, countries did not make sufficient progress in their summits in 2021. Many new leaders and hosts will prepare agendas for conferences for the first time in 2022. However, it is not clear whether success will be their ally more. from their predecessors.

Here are 10 summits scheduled for 2022, where new faces will take the stage, and the long-delayed meetings may prove fruitful.

1 - WTO Ministerial Conference, Geneva (tentatively scheduled for March)

The repeated rescheduling of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, which was postponed twice last year due to COVID-19, reflects the current imbalance in the WTO.

Generally, ministerial meetings occur every two years, but by March it will be five years since the last conference.

Disagreement between the developed and developing world over trade rules and the trend towards more discriminatory and protectionist measures is likely to derail significant progress at the 11th meeting, but gains could come in the form of multilateral agreements in areas such as e-commerce and investment facilitation. and organization of services.

2 - United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, Kunming - China (April 25 to May 8)

The scheduled meeting in Kunming will build on progress made during the first part of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention, which took place virtually in October 2021 and resulted in the Kunming Declaration and the Kunming Biodiversity Fund.

The October session focused on negotiating the drafting of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which sets targets to address critical elements of biodiversity loss and conservation by 2030.

The main objective of this second part of the conference will be to adopt this framework.

The need for immediate action on biodiversity loss is more urgent than ever.

3 - Summit of the Americas - USA (early summer)

The United States will host the Ninth Summit of the Americas.

President Joe Biden will invite 34 other heads of state and government to this triennial gathering of leaders from all of Central, North and South America, and the Caribbean.

The United States is expected to propose a new regional policy on "managing borders more humanely" for all countries in the Americas and the Caribbean.

4 - G7 Summit - Krone, Germany (26-28 June)

For the first time since 2005, the German leadership is set to host a major summit without former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who resigned late last year.

Foreign Minister Annalena Bierbock called on the G7 to act decisively rather than simply respond, and Germany's presidency will focus on three main axes: expanding commitments to mitigate climate change, strengthening multilateralism, and increasing the resilience of democracies.

5 - The 2022 NATO Summit, Madrid (29-30 June)

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the alliance must "continue to adapt to the future", but recent events near NATO's eastern border also dictate that it confront historical tensions this year.

At the summit, NATO leaders are expected to endorse the Strategic Concept for 2022, which will focus on five elements: protecting NATO values, strengthening the alliance's military strength, strengthening NATO communities, striving for global prospects, and making NATO Atlantic: The Institutional Link Between Europe and North America.

6 - NPT Conference - New York (August 21-26)

The 10th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as Revcon, is tentatively scheduled for August, after being postponed three times due to the pandemic.

7- Opening of the United Nations General Assembly - New York (September 13-27)

The opening of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly will be an opportunity for countries to take stock of their progress in implementing last year's pledges, including reducing vaccine inequality and accelerating credible climate action.

8 - G-20 Summit, Bali (30-31 October)

Global economic recovery from the pandemic will be a top priority for Indonesia when it chairs the Group of 20 this year.

Under the slogan "Recovery Together, Recovery Stronger", Indonesia's presidency will focus on three pillars: strengthening global health infrastructure, accelerating sustainable energy transformations, and promoting digital transformations.

9 - Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (7-18 November)

The 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Glasgow last year, was the latest disappointment on climate efforts.

Under the Glasgow Climate Charter, parties now have until the end of 2023 to align their 2030 targets with the goal of limiting global warming to 2°C (preferably 1.5°C) above pre-industrial levels.

Thus, COP 27 will be an opportunity to assess the parties' sincerity in fulfilling that responsibility.

10 - ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit - Cambodia

Expectations for Cambodia's presidency of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are low given the increasing outbreak of COVID-19 in the region, Chinese aggression, instability in Myanmar, and strained US-China relations.

ASEAN summits are usually followed by a larger East Asian summit, which includes the United States, China and six other major countries.

• Disagreement between the developed and developing world countries over trade rules and the trend towards more discriminatory and protectionist measures is likely to hinder progress at the 11th meeting.


• Global economic recovery from the pandemic will be a top priority for Indonesia when it chairs the Group of 20 this year.


• German Foreign Minister, Annalina Birbock, called on the Group of Seven, during their upcoming summit to be hosted in Berlin in June, to act decisively instead of merely responding, and the German presidency will focus on three main axes: expanding commitments to mitigate climate change, and strengthening multilateralism; and increasing the resilience of democracies.

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