Groundbreaking new program will bridge the divide between finance, foreign policy, and economics
DECEMBER 1, 2020 – Washington, DC – The Atlantic Council today formally launched the GeoEconomics Center, a groundbreaking new program that will bridge the divide between finance, foreign policy, and economics. The launch was marked by a live fireside chat between European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde and Atlantic Council president and CEO Frederick Kempe discussing the importance of leadership in times of crisis, the economic consequences of COVID-19, and the path to recovery for the United States and Europe.
The work of the GeoEconomics Center will have an immediate impact in restoring faith in free markets for a new generation.
“As the global economy battles through one of the toughest challenges in a century, the launch of this world-class program couldn’t come at a more critical time,” said John F.W. Rogers, Atlantic Council board chairman. “The work of the GeoEconomics Center will have an immediate impact in restoring faith in free markets for a new generation.”
The GeoEconomics Center is organized around three pillars: The Future of Capitalism; The Future of Money; and The Economic Statecraft Initiative. With its in-depth analysis, research, and dynamic data visualization tools, the program will address the fundamental fractures in the global economy—including excessive inequality, the rise of digital currencies, and the role of economic diplomacy in foreign policy—and help us map a way forward to a more sustainable and inclusive future. The Center’s work on issues ranging from G20 spending to central bank digital currencies has already been recognized for its innovation.
The Center will be led by director of programs and policy Josh Lipsky, a former International Monetary Fund senior advisor and veteran of the White House and State Department, and C. Boyden Gray senior fellow and deputy director Julia Friedlander, former NSC Director for Europe and most recently a senior policy advisor at the US Treasury Department.
Our goal is to reimagine the international economic system, just as has been done after nearly every major crisis in history.
“Our goal is to reimagine the international economic system, just as has been done after nearly every major crisis in history,” said Lipsky. “America can channel the spirit of Bretton Woods and show the world that collaborative economic leadership is the only way to achieve both peace and prosperity.”
President Lagarde used today’s launch event to underscore the importance of the GeoEconomics Center’s mission, saying, “If we’re learning anything from the kind of crisis we’re going through at the moment, it’s that things are handled and have to be addressed on a geo-basis, meaning the entire globe is concerned…and this revival of the Atlantic spirit is very welcome at this point in time.”
The Center also marked today’s launch by publishing a new interactive database of global monetary policy – showing in real-time the extraordinary amount of liquidity pumped into global markets and analyzing the policy implications for 2021 and beyond.
To learn more about the GeoEcomomics Center, please visit here. Video of the launch event with President Lagarde can be found here, and an event recap can be found here.
For media inquiries, please contact press@atlanticcouncil.org. Sign up here for Josh Lipsky’s Guide to the Global Economy, a weekly must-read newsletter released Sunday evening.
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