New York Times Foreign Affairs Columnist Tom Friedman spoke at the INSS conference, asserting that "The Biden Administration appears poised to return to the U.S.' traditional multilateral approach to the world."
According to Friedman, "The only way to prevent future pandemics is through global cooperation because the world we live in has become so interconnected."
"The biggest global trend is that the world is becoming not only flat but also fragile."
"The world has been hit by a sequence of 'global pandemics' caused by different types of pathogens – including 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 crisis," he added.
Friedman also discussed "climate change," saying "Today we are witnessing many warning signs regarding climate change. The worrying thing about this phenomenon is that there is no such vaccine or herd immunity for climate change."
"When it comes to climate change, we are literally removing physical buffers such as rain forests, mangroves, and polar ice caps. This is weakening our resilience to coping with environmental challenges."