This is an organisation that is, as it says in the very first line of your Mission Statement, committed to “improving the state of the world”. Those of us who meet here are all – by instinct and outlook – optimists who believe in the power of public and private cooperation to make the world of tomorrow better than the world of today. And we are all united in our belief that that world will be built on the foundations of free trade, partnership and globalisation.
Yet beyond the confines of this hall, those forces for good that we so often take for granted are being called into question. The forces of liberalism, free-trade and globalisation that have had – and continue to have – such an overwhelmingly positive impact on our world…
that have harnessed unprecedented levels of wealth and opportunity…
that have lifted millions out of poverty around the world…
that have brought nations closer together, broken down barriers and improved standards of living and consumer choice…
forces that underpin the rules-based international system that is key to our global prosperity and security, are somehow at risk of being undermined.
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