World Economic Series (WES)
The World Economic Series (WES) is a partnership between Public Policy Projects and Diplomat magazine.
The series offers opportunities to ambassadors and high commissioners to raise their own and their country’s profile, and share thought-leadership during a range of virtual and in-person events.
Register for regular WES updates
History of WES
Originally conceived in April 2020, the WES regularly brings together an international audience of diplomats, policy makers, government and business leaders to discuss a large range of topics. A premise of the WES was that international dialogue was required to tackle the major issues of the day that emerged following the start of the health pandemic, hence the involvement of the diplomatic community.
The series’ purpose is to continue to provide ‘thinking space’ for senior leaders to discuss the broader, economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the transition to net zero. The events and exchange of ideas that have followed have enabled participants to debate essential changes to the international policy framework.
A green recovery | COP focus
There is a clear international consensus, that we have learned about, regarding a commitment to a green economic recovery to the pandemic. Building on this, we have developed a dedicated programme of events focusing on helping different countries prepare for COP summits.
Ahead of COP26, our programme on ‘Maximising COP26‘ was led by former UK Secretary of State The Rt Hon Amber Rudd and former COP President-Designate The Rt Hon Claire Perry O’Neill. This work highlighted the essential role technologies will play in supporting individual jurisdictions to meet their decarbonisation commitments.
Looking to COP27, our programme ‘Pathway to COP27’ will be led by the former UK climate minister The Rt Hon Chris Skidmore. Working closely with the Egyptian Embassy, this will highlight the essential role of innovation for jurisdictions delivering on their Glasgow Climate Pact commitments.
Read more about the development of our COP programme here (coming soon).
The future of WES
At PPP we believe the pandemic has heightened the necessity for international, coordinated, approaches to handling international crises in the future.
Aside from serving as a communication channel, the WES has proved an effective tool in convening distinct communities of interest; whether that be to discuss hydrogen, nuclear, health inequalities or digital innovation.
As the WES develops in 2022 these networks will continue to flourish, convening audiences of interest, committed to the creation of internationally informed policy.
Upcoming WES events
- Upcoming events will be announced soon.
Overview of past events
Previous events were led by Heads of Mission and each focused on analysing and highlighting the growing tensions facing policy makers: the tensions between concerns over public health and public wealth, and the tensions between public wealth and sustainable net-zero economies.
“The PPP team played an invaluable role supporting both the Presidency of Namibia and myself as High Commissioner prepare for COP26. Their work and convening power successfully enabled our country to showcase the unique investment opportunities of Namibia and ensured our President’s time in the UK for the Summit was most impactfully spent.”
H.E. Mrs Linda Scott, High Commissioner of The Republic of Namibia to the UK
Past events and speakers
Australia | Event Theme: Fintech Bridges
- H.E. The Hon. George Brandis QC, High Commissioner of Australia to the UK
- Senator The Hon. Jane Hume, Australia’s Minister of Finance and Fintech
Event Theme: Low emissions technologies and COP26
- H.E. The Hon. George Brandis QC, High Commissioner of Australia to the UK
- Dr Alan Finkel AO, Special Advisor to The Government of Australia on Low Emissions Technology; Former Chief Scientist of Australia
- Anthony Browne, Partner, Ashurst LLP
Central Americas | Event Theme: Investment opportunities in Central America
- H.E. Ms Guisell Morales, Ambassador of Nicaragua to the UK
- H.E. Mr Ivan Acosta, Finance Minister of Nicaragua
- Dr Dante Mossi, President, Central American Bank for Economic Integration
Colombia | Event Theme: Colombia’s green pandemic recovery
- H.E. Mr Antonio Ardila , Ambassador of Colombia to the UK
- Flavia Santoro Trujillo, President, Pro-Colombia
EU | Event Theme: EU Covid-19 Recovery
- H.E. Mr Joao Vale De Almeida, Ambassador of the EU to the UK
- Maarten Verwey, Director-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, EU Commission
France | Event Theme: The future of nuclear energy and COP26
- H.E. Ms Catherine Colonna, Ambassador of France to the UK
- Simone Rossi, CEO, EDF Energy
Health Inequalities | Event Theme: Understanding the social determinants of health
- Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Special Advisor on Social Determinants of Health, WHO
- Professor Giuseppe Costa, Professor of Public Health, University of Turin
- Dr Peter Mills, Medical Director, Cigna
Mental Health | Event Theme: Understanding Covid-19 mental health implications
- Dr Ren Minghui, Deputy Director General, WHO
- Dévora Kestel, Director for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, WHO
- Ella Robertson, Managing Director, One Young World
Mental Health | Event Theme: Understanding Covid-19 mental health implications
- Dr Ren Minghui, Deputy Director General, WHO
- Dévora Kestel, Director for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, WHO
- Ella Robertson, Managing Director, One Young World
Ireland | Event Theme: Solutions to the Northern Ireland Protocol
- Simon Coveney TD, Ireland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs & Defence
- The Rt Hon Sir David Lidington KCB CBE, Former UK Secretary of State
- The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of The City of London, Alderman Vincent Keaveny
Japan | Event Theme: Japanese digital innovation
- H.E. Mr Yasumasa Nagamine, Ambassador of the Japan to the UK
- Naoki Ota, Special Advisor on Digital, Technology and Smart Cities to the Japanese Government
Namibia | Event Theme: Exporting green hydrogen and COP26
- H.E. Mrs Linda Scott, High Commissioner of Namibia to the UK
- James Mynupe, Chief Economic Advisor to the President of Namibia; Namibia’s National Hydrogen Spokesperson
- Charlotte Fenton, Deputy British High Commissioner to Namibia
Qatar | Event Theme: Sports diplomacy and the 2022 World Cup
- H.E. Mr Yousef Al-Khater, Ambassador of Qatar to the UK
- Bodour Al-Meer, Director of Sustainability, Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, FIFA World Cup 2022
South Korea | Event Theme: The Korean New Deal
- H.E. Ms Enna Park, Ambassador of South Korea to the UK
- Dae Joong Lee, Director of Development Finance, Ministry of Economy and Finance
Event Theme: P4G Seoul Pre-Summit on an inclusive green recovery
- H.E. Ms Enna Park, Ambassador of South Korea to the UK
- Yeonchul Yoo, Climate Ambassador of South Koreas; Minister for Climate Change
- H.E. Mr Lars Thuesen, Ambassador of Denmark to the UK
- Ian De Cruz, Global Director, P4G
- The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, UK Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth
- Tomas Anker Christiansen, Climate Ambassador of Denmark
Switzerland | Event Theme: Swiss leadership in CleanTech
- H.E. Mr Markus Leitner, Ambassador of Switzerland to the UK
- Professor Peter Bruce, Vice-President, Royal Society
Thailand | Event Theme: Life Sciences and infrastructure opportunities in the Eastern Economic Corridor
- H.E. Mr Pisanu Suvanajata, Ambassador of Thailand to the UK
- Dr Luxmon Attapich, Deputy Secretary-General, Eastern Economic Corridor Office
- Burin Adulwattana, Chief Economist, Bangkok Bank
UAE | Event Theme: UAE science and technology leadership and the UAE Mars Mission
- H.E. Mr Mansoor Abulhoul, Ambassador of the UAE to the UK
- Omran Sharaf, Project Manager, Hope Mars Mission
UK | Event Theme: The City of London and Green Recovery
- The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of The City of London, Alderman William Russell
- Alistair Harrison CMG CVO, Her Majesty’s Marshal of The Diplomatic Corps
- Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary General & Executive Director of UN Environment Programme, United Nations
Event Theme: UK Covid-19 Recovery
- The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of The Exchequer
- Stephen Hammond MP, Deputy Chair, Public Policy Projects
Event Theme: Opportunities for UK Foreign Policy in 2021
- Tom Tugendhat MP, Chair, House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee
Event Theme: Digitisation and rail (sponsored by Huawei)
- The Rt Hon The Lord Willetts, former Secretary of State
- Matthew Howett, Founder, Assembly Research
- Ashley Lumsden, Head of Public Affairs, Huawei UK
COP Focus
COP26 & Green Finance | Event Themes: Outcomes from the Corporation of London’s Green Horizons Summit
- Anshula Kant, Chief Financial Officer, World Bank
- The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of The City of London, Alderman William Russell
- Sir Roger Gifford, Chair, Green Finance Institute
- The Rt Hon Claire Perry O’Neill, Managing Director, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
COP26 & Climate Diplomacy | Event Themes: How diplomats can shape the COP agenda
- H.E. Mr Lars Thuesen, Ambassador of Denmark to the UK
- H.E. Ms Janice Charette, High Commissioner of Canada to the UK
- H.E. Ms Farah Faizal, High Commissioner of the Maldives to the UK
COP26 Preparedness | Event Theme: Are we ready for COP26?
- The Rt Hon Amber Rudd, Former UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate
- The Rt Hon Claire Perry O’Neill, Former COP26 President-Deisgnate
- Matt Toombs, Director of Partnerships & Engagement, COP26 Unit
