World growing multipolar with new power centers: Presidents

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

DAILY NEWS photos, Emrah GÜREL

The world is no longer firmly unipolar, but in the transition stage for multipolarity, with regional cooperation and economic partnerships on the rise, the speakers at the presidents’ session highlighted yesterday in the closing session of the 16th Eurasian Economic Summit.

The session included the current presidents of Macedonia and Albania and the president of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, alongside former presidents of Slovenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Moldova. Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Güler also sent his regards to the guests through his undersecretary, Hacı Müftüoğlu.

The discussion topic, set by summit organizers as the question of “Unipolar or multipolar world?” was both challenging and vital to the Eurasian region, the speakers said in separate speeches.

The world is “witnessing transformation of realities of 200 countries” with “a mosaic of unions based on regional ties,” former Kyrgyzstani President Roza Otunbeya said in her speech.

Speakers said the world tended to progress in a multipolar direction, with strong units forming as new centers of power, due to inevitable common threats – namely environmental issues and scarcity of resources.

Former Mongolian President Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat said the ecological threat was the “most important issue” and that it carried “no political frontier.” No country can avoid the dangers of issues like climate change and scarcity of water and food, Ochirbat added.

President Mihail Formuzal of the Gagauzia autonomous region also underlined global threats, adding weapons of mass destruction and terrorism to the list of dangers the world’s nations are currently facing.
The world can handle the situations in two separate ways, Formuzal said, through international relations or regional cooperation.

“The world has two current ways: the desire to form international relations and regionalism. One forces a form of polarity as well by forcing all powers under one roof,” Formuzal said. “The other is equal developments, with partnerships in different areas.”

Formuzal said that despite the need for cooperation, countries should be allowed to have their own voices.

“We support cooperation, but differences should be respected on the course of development,” Formuzal said.

Former Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov also highlighted mutual cooperation in regions, and the need to take part in global projects.

Former Slovenian President Danilo Türk said the issue at hand was “an ambitious concept, with ambitious questions” with the concept of multipolarity still relatively new to understanding.

A cooperative layer existed even at times of unipolarity, Türk added, with a multipolar system working underneath.

The future, Türk said, would be “a combination of global organizations and regional institutions.”

The universe is naturally multipolar, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov said, and unipolarity is manmade.

“If multipolarity is the rule, unipolarity is the exception, and as exceptions are, it is short lived,” Ivanov said.

The world should follow the rule of international law, combined with human rights principles, Ivanov added.

“The compass we follow, which is international law, provides stability and order. Let’s thrive in a world that accepts differences,” Ivanov said