Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) had the opportunity to organise the Common Action Forum 2024 alongside the Third World Network (TWN) on the 2nd and 3rd December 2024 with the theme of Sovereignty and Fair Interdependence: The Global South and the Democratisation of Prosperity in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. CAF 2024 was separated into two days: the forum which consisted of three panel sessions and four workshops on the second day.
The event was attended by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim. During his keynote address, the prime minister spoke of reforming the international financial infrastructure, the international trading system, climate finance system and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). He urged that Malaysia must strategise regional and international platforms to address the shared concerns of the Global South.
“The time for half-measures and incremental changes has passed. The choice before us is clear: continue with a system that marginalises most of humanity or build a new order founded on genuine partnership, shared prosperity and sustainable development.”
- Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim during his keynote address at CAF 2024
The first session highlighted The Emergence of a New Development Order with esteemed speakers: Professor Keun Lee from the Seoul National University, Associate Professor Fadhel Kaboub of Denison University, His Excellency David Malcomson, the High Commissioner of South Africa to Malaysia and Senior Economist at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rashmi Banga. This session was accompanied by a keynote address by YB Tuan Liew Chin Tong, Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia. In this first session, the speakers emphasised on fundamental shifts in global power dynamics, economic structures, or ideological frameworks and understanding economic development in the 21st century.
Later, CAF 2024 proceeded with the second session Fixing Global Inequality through Climate and Health Justice with a focus on the role of technological effectiveness and innovation for the Global South. The keynote address was given by YB Datuk Seri Dr Hj Dzulkefly Ahmad, the Minister of Health of Malaysia. The session’s speakers included Dr Sanjeev Krishna, who teaches Molecular Parasitology at Medicine St George’s, University of London (SGUL), Vicente Paolo Yu, the Senior Legal Adviser at the TWN and Ellen ‘t Hoen who is the director of Medicines Law & Policy (ML&P).
The final session of the forum was the Challenges of a Post-Growth Financial Architecture with an emphasis on the overhauling the international financial architecture and the priorities that developing countries can bring to the UN Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in 2025. The session opened with a keynote speech by Dr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram who is the Research Advisor at Khazanah Research Institute. The speakers for this session were Ecuador’s former Minister of Knowledge and Human Talent, Dr Andrés Arauz, Dr Attiya War who is a professor of Fiscal Law and Policy at the Faculty of Law at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, Dr Bhumika Muchhala from TWN and Dr Richard Kozul-Wright, Professor of Sustainable Structural Transformation at SOAS, University of London.
On the last day of CAF 2024, four workshops were conducted as an extension of the plenary sessions of day one that allow more focused interaction between experts and smaller groups of participants. These workshops revolved around different themes: Industrial Policy: Seizing Semiconductor Opportunities, Strengthening Public Health Security, Mobilising Resources for Climate Action and Multilateralism, International Cooperation & Partnerships. These workshops were attended by civil servants, policymakers, members of civil society and academicians.
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