Contributing the Public Debate
The Bridge Tank is committed to delivering clear ideas, relevant to all –– specialists and citizens alike who are seeking a better understanding of the challenges of globalization and the evolution of global ecosystems. In this section, our team presents a set of editorials and chronicles or reports on our media presence.
“Chronicle of Three Deaths Foretold” – A call to action for the Fouta Djallon 26 April 2023 By Erik Orsenna, Joel Ruet, & Hamed Semega. Published in Diplomatic Courier on March 31, 2023."The forested highlands of Fouta Djallon are in danger, and that means six major African rivers, including the Senegal, Gambia, and Niger rivers could dry up with devastating impacts. There are clear, actionable steps we… Lire la suite
Hydro-diplomacy: Minister Kumbaro Furxhi shares Albania’s experience with the Vjosa River National Park 30 March 2023 2 weeks after the historic declaration of Albania’s Vjosa River as a national park by the Albanian government, The Bridge Tank and Initiatives for the Future of Great River had the honour of welcoming Mirela Kumbaro Furxhi, Minister of Tourism and Environment, Republic of Albania, on the panel of our… Lire la suite
UN 2023 Water Conference: The Bridge Tank & IFGR hold a side event on hydro-diplomacy 28 March 2023 On 23 March, Day 2 of the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York, The Bridge Tank and Initiatives for the Future of Great Rivers (IFGR) coorganised an official side event on hydro-diplomacy "Towards an inclusive, pre-emptive, and positive hydro-diplomacy." The side event's partner organisation included the French Water Partnership,… Lire la suite
G20/Business 20 : The Bridge Tank takes part in the B20 India Inception Meeting 17 February 2023 After Indonesia’s tenure in 2022, the turn of the year saw India assume the presidency of the G20 for 2023. From 22 to 24 January 2023, the city of Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India, hosted the Inception Meeting of the Business 20 (B20) Engagement Group of the G20 to discuss the… Lire la suite
COP 27: Advances on loss and damage but no breakthrough on climate finance despite a strong West African involvement 25 November 2022 The fear of ending COP 27 without any significant advances was looming over Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in the dying hours of this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference. But after a final negotiations marathon between the parties, a deal was eventually struck. The agreement which concluded two weeks of discussions… Lire la suite
An eventful first week at COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh for our board member Hakima El Haite 15 November 2022 The first week of the COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh saw the world gather in the Egyptian coastal city to exchange on the many pressing issues of the world’s environmental crisis. One of those leaders taking part in the discussions and the seeking out of concrete solutions to combat… Lire la suite
OpEd: Risky Business: The U.S. Should Rethink Business With Kazakhstan 21 April 2022 An article written by our President, Joël Ruet about Kazakhstan's current and growing challenge to fight corruption that undermines foreign investment and the country's socio-economic development, was published in the media Entrepreneur.com. He warns that “despite the Kazakh government’s public campaign to attract foreign investors […] it will need to… Lire la suite
“Profiteering & pandemic: WTO, pharma industry must introspect”, tribune by our board member Pranjal Sharma 22 November 2021 In the ongoing context of the Covid-19 pandemic, our board member, Pranjal Sharma, wrote the following OpEd, published by The Daily Guardian, on the benefits of waivering the IPR (intellectual property rights) on vaccine production, particularly for low-income countries such as India and those of the African continent. Read his… Lire la suite
2M TV Morocco – Joël Ruet speaks on how the roll-out of the vaccine pass will facilitate the return to normal life 26 October 2021 Joël Ruet, President of The Bridge Tank, spoke on newscast Infosoir on Monday 25 October on the French-Moroccan television channel 2M. Joël Ruet indicated that the world is in a new phase in the treatment of the pandemic, with imperatives and specificities that differ from the period of its advent.… Lire la suite
OpEd: G20 Must Help Low Income Countries Get Out of Debt Crises 14 October 2021 On the occasion of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Washington DC, our Policy Brief on the modernization of the African Banking sector was mentioned in an OpEd in Diplomatic Courier by Joel Ruet. This paper suggests that, in addition to sovereign aid, commercial banks in Africa get a fairer… Lire la suite
Issue Brief: AUKUS – A storm in the Pacific 5 October 2021 On 15 September 2021, Australia terminated a contract with France to supply conventional submarines, in favor of a nuclear military-technology collaboration with the United States and the United Kingdom. This breach of contract highlighted the nascent AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom and United States) military alliance, which was created in response… Lire la suite
When bad controversies drive out the good ones: rehabilitating scientific controversy 14 September 2021 At a time when Covid variants are multiplying, what is known genetically about this virus, from the processes of its emergence, to the role of virology in the analysis of its current evolution, to the genetic origins of its transformation into a pandemic, as well as the hypothesis of the… Lire la suite
EU strategic interests vis-à-vis China: our article published in the National Defence Review and published by China Today 23 July 2021 As the strategy of European autonomy in the face of Chinese power gathers traction, The Bridge Tank published an issue brief in both the National Defense Review and China Today. An indication that rigorous discussion for a tight negotiation remains possible?After two years of work, The Bridge Tank has positioned… Lire la suite
Tribune: The Winners and Losers of the Australian-China Trade War 5 July 2021 The current trade war between Australia and China has heavily impacted the position and importance of China’s global trading partners, particularly within the beef and wine industry. Whilst Australia has undoubtedly suffered, other countries such as USA and Brazil are taking this opportunity to fill in the market gap. The… Lire la suite
‘China, new Atlantis between the United-States and Europe?’ Joël Ruet deciphers the triangular power-play in his latest article in Euraktiv and The Tribune 28 June 2021 There is no longer denying that America, under Biden’s new administration, is preparing to confront the growing presence of China within the global arena by waging what many have called the ‘new Cold War’. Despite growing concerns over what America’s aggressive stance could bring to the future, as echoed by… Lire la suite
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… Lire la suite
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… Lire la suite
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… Lire la suite
Speech by Joël Ruet at the Think Tank & Media Forum on Global Economic Development. 11 March 2021 China must adopt more multilateral ways to clarify its position in the security issue and create a stable external environment, said Joël Ruet, president of the Bridge Tank, France, during his address to the Think Tank & Media Forum on Global Economic Development. Lire la suite
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… Lire la suite