News & Highlights
EU-US Summit : towards a new transatlantic partnership ? 16 June 2021 “America is back” and the Trump years are behind us, as evidenced by the holding of the EU-United States summit in Brussels on June 15, 2021: being the first meeting of this type since 2017, it marked the launch of a renewed partnership and a joint program for cooperation between… Read more
The African diaspora recalled by the continent? 15 June 2021 The sustained growth of the last two decades and the two global crises of 2008 (Subprimes) and 2020 (Covid-19) have revealed new challenges on a global scale, which are illustrated in Africa by a sustainable modernisation challenge. The role of the diaspora in accessing international finance is one of the… Read more
Contradictory trends on EU-China, relations? The case of industry 8 June 2021 The paradoxical observation of deep disagreement and necessary cooperation Relations between the EU and China are conditioned by a double observation : observation of a deep disagreement on political values, in terms of human rights and democracy, but also observation of the need for the two powers to cooperate on… Read more
The Bridge Tank holds a working meeting on West Africa 8 June 2021 On 7 June 2021, The Bridge Tank organised an online working meeting on economic, political and security developments in West Africa. This meeting brought together board members of The Bridge Tank as well as representatives of Liberal International and Socialist International. Read more
Our analysis of Morocco’s New Development Model 1 June 2021 Context: Ambassador and former Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa, Chairman of the Special Commission on the Development Model (CSMD), presented his general report on Tuesday 25 May 2021 at a ceremony presided over by King Mohammed VI. The latter will give rise to a national pact for development - an unprecedented… Read more
Financing the African economy: Supporting the Modernization of African Economies 17 May 2021 By Clarisse Hida & Joël Ruet As the Summit on the financing of the African economy will be held on May 18, 2021 in Paris, at the invitation of Emmanuel Macron and with the African heads of state and government, solutions must go well beyond refinancing of sovereign debt, to… Read more
The Bridge Tank at the BOAO Forum in the media 28 April 2021 Since 2018, the Chairman of the Bridge Tank Joël RUET participates to the BOAO Forum, of which this think tank is a partner. This year, he spoke alongside international leaders in politics and business, such as Dmytro KULEBA, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jens ESKELUND, vice-president at the European Chamber… Read more
The Bridge Tank at the BOAO Forum for Asia 2021: a partnership anchored in a shared vision for the future 22 April 2021 The Bridge Tank at the annual “Chinese Davos” meetingAfter a year of pandemic which led to its suspension in 2020, the BOAO Forum renewed its annual conference from April 18 to 21, 2021 in a context fluctuating between resumption of international trade and temptation to withdraw. As such, the “Chinese… Read more
Coordination between Europe, India and COP26 is a great lever for climate engagement 2 April 2021 Our Board Member Minister Prabhu, India’s G20 Sherpa, discussed sustainability issues with COP26 President and EU Commissioner Timmermans in charge of the green deal. EU-India-COP26 coordination is one of the great levers of ambitious and credible Climate commitments. Read more
EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment: Stakes for a constructive balance of power 17 March 2021 By Philippe Coste, Pierre-Noël Giraud, Stéphane Gompertz, Henri de Grossouvre, Fatima Hadj, Brice Lalonde, François Loos, François Quentin, Joël Ruet, Raphaël Schoentgen, Alex Wang, avec Clarisse Comte et Claire Thomas. After seven years of negotiations, the European Union and China reached an investment agreement on December 30, 2020. While Beijing… Read more
The Organization for the Development of the Senegal River Basin (OMVS) will be a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize 12 March 2021 On 12th March 2021, in Kayes, Mali, our Board Member Hamed Semega, announced the Senegal River basin organization (OMVS) will run for the Peace Nobel Prize. OMVS, an international organization under Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, today celebrates its 49th anniversary. Heading towards 50, and ahead of the upcoming Word Water… Read more
Implementation of the G20 anti-corruption program 11 March 2021 Our board member Suresh Prabhu chaired the First Inter-Ministerial Meeting to shape anti-corruption agenda of #G20 as co-chair Anti-Corruption Working Group along with #Italy. Read more
Interview with Joël Ruet President of the Bridge Tank on CCTV- China News 9 March 2021 Our chairman Joel Ruet was interviewed by CCTV, in China’s widest audience news show, on President XI Jinping’s speech in Davos. He argued that, since 2017’s XI’s historic speech in Davos, China had kept opening and that the future will rest on continued progress in reciprocity for investment for European… Read more
Senegal: The political crisis shaking the country 9 March 2021 3 of our Founding Board Members from Senegal were mobilized in the international and national media during the restlessness the country experienced; Aissata Tall-Sall (on Francde 24) Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elhaj Kasse (on TFM) Special Adviser to the President and Mamadou Lamine Diallo ( on TFM), member of the… Read more
Signing of the investment agreement between the EU and China 9 March 2021 Ambassador Sylvie Bermann and our chairman Joel Ruet exchanged notes on Chinese TV on the EU-China investment agreement; noting that it not only concludes 7 years of negotiations but also of seeing on both sides the emergence of a different vision of the world. While many issues remain to be… Read more
China “Two Sessions” : the Bridge Tank co-organizes the Think Tank & Media Forum on Global Economic Development 8 March 2021 A Forum on Global Economic Development on the occasion of the Two Sessions in BeijingTogether with its Chinese partners, the China International Publishing Group and the China Institute for Innovation & Development Strategy, as well as the Prospective & Innovation Foundation, the Bridge Tank co-organized on March 8 a hybrid… Read more
Minister Brice Lalonde and former UN deputy SG discusses ecological transition with the Bridge Tank 17 February 2021 Brice Lalonde, who served as French Minister for the Environment, UN Under-Secretary-General for Climate, and Executive Coordinator at Rio+20, detailed the major issues at stake around the ecological transition around which powers must engage in a new cycle of technological cooperation. Prospects for Sino-European cooperation The former minister recalled that… Read more
Minister Edmond Alphandéry exchanges with Bridge Tank experts about carbon pricing 16 February 2021 Edmond Alphandéry, former French Minister of the Economy and Chairman of the Task Force on Carbon Pricing, gave a long explanation of his vision of the place and importance of carbon pricing in the ecological transition, and highlighted the decisiveness of this measure in order to achieve the objective of… Read more
Exchange on the role of culture in international relations between Irina Bokova, former Director-General of UNESCO and the experts of the Bridge Tank 15 February 2021 The first woman elected as Director-General of UNESCO, Minister of Foreign Affairs in Bulgaria in 1996, and former Bulgarian ambassador to France, Irina BOKOVA is a passionate politician, who shares the values of openness and dialogue with the Bridge Tank. During her career, she became involved in international efforts in… Read more
EU-China Online Cooperation Forum 2021 21 January 2021 The Bridge Tank hosted Lu Shaye, Chinese Ambassador to France, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French Prime Minister, Irina Bokova, former Director General of UNESCO, François Loos, former French Minister for Industry and Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Sylvie Bermann, former French Ambassador to China and to the United Kingdom, Stéphane Gompertz,… Read more