Roundtable Meeting with
Mr. Memduh Karakullukçu,
Vice-Chairman and President of GRF
May 28, 2019

On May 28, 2019, Mr. Memduh Karakullukçu, Vice-Chairman and President of GRF, addressed GRF and GRF Community members at a roundtable meeting. With his time as President coming to an end, Mr. Karakullukçu shared with the participants his thoughts and impressions on global trends throughout his term attending numerous meetings abroad. In his speech, Mr. Karakullukçu examined the fundamental dynamics that will shape the next century such as the global wealth distribution problem, the ongoing power competition over technology, and climate change.

Mr. Karakullukçu stated that recent years have seen the employment pool starting to shrink, and growth models becoming outdated due to technological advancements (automation) and political currents (protectionism). Mr. Karakullukçu remarked that the effects of this slowdown on global wealth distribution will be felt more acutely in regions like Africa that have not yet been integrated into the international system, and drew attention to the fact that significant migration waves can occur due to the region being particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change.

In the second part of his speech, Mr. Karakullukçu discussed the main dynamics of the US-China political, economic and military rivalry. Touching particularly on the technological reflections of the rivalry, Mr. Karakullukçu assessed the ongoing competition over 5G and microchip production. Following his speech, Mr. Karakullukçu answered the participants’ questions.