By Blessing Chinagorom
The United Kingdom Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, at the Policy Exchange on Security on Monday, has said that in this world of greater conflict and danger, 100 million people are now displaced globally.
Sunak voiced out that dangers that threaten the world are too real which are increasing in number, saying axis of authoritarian states like Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China is working together to undermine the world’s values.
He said war has returned to Europe, with NATO allies warning that if Russia’s Vladimir Putin succeeds in Ukraine, they might be next. “War rages, too, in the Middle East as Israel defends itself not only against the terrorists of Hamas but a barrage of missiles fired, for the first time directly from Iran.
Sunak added that right now in Africa, conflicts are being fought in 18 different countries and Putin’s recklessness has taken the World closer to a dangerous nuclear escalation than at any point since the Cuban missile crisis.
“These are not faraway problems. Iranian proxies are firing on British ships in the Red Sea, disrupting goods destined for our high streets. Here at home, China has conducted cyber targeting of our democratically elected MPs. Russia has poisoned people with chemical weapons.
“And when Putin cut off the gas supplies it had a devastating impact on people’s lives and threatened our energy security. And in this world of greater conflict and danger, 100 million people are now displaced globally”.
UK PM revealed that countries like Russia are weaponising immigration for their own ends, criminal gangs keep finding new routes across European borders, saying illegal migration is placing an intolerable strain on security, sense of fairness, and unless act boldly this problem is only going to grow.
“Extremists are also exploiting these global conflicts to divide us. People are abusing our liberal democratic values, the freedom of speech and right of protest, to intimidate, threaten and assault others, to sing antisemitic chants on our streets.
“They’re trying to make it morally unacceptable to believe something different and undermine people’s confidence and pride in our own history and identity. But for all the dangers ahead, few are felt more acutely than people’s sense of financial insecurity”, he said.
UK Prime Minister stated that the world must be prepared strategically, economically, with robust plans and greater national resilience, to meet this time of instability with strength. And people’s sense of insecurity is only heightened by the fears about new technologies like AI.
According to him, “But the paradox of our age is that for all the profound dangers we face, right now, we also hold in our hands an opportunity for human progress that could surpass the industrial revolution in speed and breadth. Technologies like AI will do for the 21st century what the steam engine and electricity did for the 19th.
“They’ll accelerate human progress by complementing what we do, by speeding up the discovery of new ideas, and by assisting almost every aspect of human life. Think of the investment they will bring, the jobs they’ll create, and the increase in all our living standards they’ll deliver.
“Credible estimates suggest AI alone could double our productivity in the next decade. And in doing so, help us create a world of less suffering, more freedom, choice, and opportunity. Just imagine, child in school with their own personalised tutor, and every teacher free to spend more time personally developing each student.
He said, “At the same time, new and fast- growing economic superpowers like India, Indonesia, and Nigeria are significantly reshaping the global economy. And just as this ever more interconnected world creates new dangers, it also creates new possibilities”.
PM noted that the United Kingdom is uniquely placed to benefit. “We’ve always been an open, trading, maritime nation; and Brexit has given us the opportunity to trade even more. And we invent, discover, and produce new products and services that the world wants to buy.
“From aircraft wings in Filton, to financial services in Glasgow, to incredible cultural exports like film, music, and TV, or sports like the Premier League. Everywhere from rural Kenya to the cityscapes of South Korea, people stay up all times of day and night to watch their favourite British team.
“It’s no wonder that Brexit Britain has leapt above France, Japan, and the Netherlands to become the world’s fourth biggest exporter. And the more we export, the better our businesses will do, the more jobs we will create, the more wealth we will generate – right across our country.
“My point is this: our country stands at a crossroads. Over the next few years, from our democracy to our society to our economy – to hardest questions of war and peace – almost every aspect of our lives is going to change.
“How we act in face of changes, not only to keep people safe and secure but to realise the opportunities too, will determine whether or not Britain will succeed in the years to come.
“Today I’ve set out my vision for how Britain can succeed in one of the most dangerous yet transformational eras we’ve ever known. The values that lie behind that vision are a new patriotism: a confidence in ourselves and in all that we can achieve”, the Prime Minister added.