ASTANA - September 17 and 18 marked the first Kazakhstan Economic Freedom High-Level Conference, held in the capital of Central Asia’s largest economy and a crucial global trade partner. Zhou Xin, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Finance Forum (IFF) represented the IFF at this important gathering and spoke about economic policies in a world of increasing geopolitical fragmentation. Also in attendance were representatives of companies, organizations, and universities such as the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee, the International Monetary Fund, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, University Paris la Sorbonne, the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the Central Bank of Georgia, Vodafone, and more.

2024 marks the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Conference, which helped lay the foundation for the modern global economy and the international monetary system. In the 80 years since the Bretton Woods Conference was held, the world has enjoyed unprecedented levels of economic growth, globalization, poverty reduction, and financial integration. Today, however, with increasing tensions between the United States and China, the rise of anti-globalization populism, and various regional conflicts around the world, free trade, financial and economic integration, and globalization are all under threat. If not managed properly, such forces could undermine the international monetary system that the Bretton Woods Conference worked so hard to create, and potentially see a more fragmented world of competing blocs. Given such heightened risk and uncertainty, many multinational companies are seeking to diversify by reorganizing supply chains and moving sensitive areas of production closer to home or at least to countries with which they have warmer relations - a process often referred to as near-shoring or friend-shoring.

Such upheaval calls for greater collaboration and dialog to ensure better communication and more coherent strategy-making - this is also the most effective way of preventing misunderstandings and adapting to current challenges before they become more difficult to manage. To that end, the Kazakhstan Economic Freedom High-Level Conference focused on the current global economic outlook in the context of the threat of fragmentation, the lessons learned from the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and the accompanying worldwide surge in inflation, the financial stability implications of monetary policy actions and elevated indebtedness, and the increasingly important role of digital finance. With an eye toward the future as well as the present, the conference featured four main themes - monetary policy and macroeconomics, the geography of trade, finance and technology, and sustainability leadership. Experts from all over the world gave insightful speeches as they provided their valuable opinions and insights from different national perspectives as well as the perspectives of universities, central banks, international organizations, and more. This conference represented a crucial opportunity for international dialog and brainstorming to safeguard the global economy and financial system, navigate current international challenges, and ensure a more sustainable future for all.