GlobalNeighboursconvenesEurope–AsiadialogueonthenexteraofglobalfinanceatEFA26

ALPBACH, AUSTRIA — Global Neighbours, an Advanced Partner of the European Forum Alpbach 2026, convened the session “Beyond Bretton Woods: Europe and Asia in the Next Era of Global Finance” on 1 September in Alpbach.

The 90-minute discussion brought together leaders from finance, technology, policy and international cooperation to examine how Europe and Asia can contribute to a more resilient and inclusive financial architecture amid geopolitical realignment, economic fragmentation and growing pressure to finance global public goods.

From left: Mr. Gene Ma, Ms. Jovanka Porsche, Mr. Gyude Moore, Prof. Dr. Feiyu Xu, Mr. Gerald Podobnik, Mag. Christian Kern and Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee following the Global Neighbours session “Beyond Bretton Woods” at the European Forum Alpbach 2026.

Mag. Christian Kern, President of Global Neighbours, Vice President of the European Forum Alpbach and former Federal Chancellor of Austria, delivered the opening remarks. He framed the conversation around Europe’s intensifying competitiveness challenge, pointing to the accelerating scale and pace of investment in artificial intelligence as an indication of how quickly the global economic landscape is changing. Kern also welcomed the panel’s diversity of experience and recognised Founder and Chairwoman Ms. Jovanka Porsche’s role in building Global Neighbours as a platform connecting perspectives across regions.

Mag. Christian Kern, President of Global Neighbours, Vice President of the European Forum Alpbach and former Federal Chancellor of Austria, delivers the opening remarks.

The discussion was moderated by Mr. Gene Ma, Chief APAC Representative and Head of China Research at the Institute of International Finance. Panelists included Prof. Dr. Feiyu Xu, University Professor and Head of Industry AI at the German University of Digital Science; Mr. Gerald Podobnik, Co-Head of Corporate Bank at Deutsche Bank; Ms. Jovanka Porsche, Founder and Chairwoman of Global Neighbours; and Mr. Gyude Moore, former Minister of Public Works of Liberia.

The session also welcomed Dr. Othmar Karas, the President of the European Forum Alpbach, and Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee, Chief Executive Officer of Global Neighbours, underscoring the importance of sustained Europe–Asia dialogue.

From left: Mag. Christian Kern, President of Global Neighbours and Vice President of the European Forum Alpbach; Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee, Chief Executive Officer of Global Neighbours; and Dr. Othmar Karas, President of the European Forum Alpbach, attend the “Beyond Bretton Woods” session at EFA26.

Mr. Gene Ma, Chief APAC Representative and Head of China Research at the Institute of International Finance, moderates the discussion.

From left: Moderator Mr. Gene Ma with panellists Ms. Jovanka Porsche, Mr. Gyude Moore, Prof. Dr. Feiyu Xu and Mr. Gerald Podobnik during the “Beyond Bretton Woods” session.

Cooperation rooted in mutual benefit

Ms. Jovanka Porsche emphasised that cooperation remains essential at a time of rising uncertainty. She argued for relationships built on mutual benefit and constructive interdependence, with Europe engaging partners across regions in ways that create durable shared interests rather than new dependencies.

Ms. Jovanka Porsche, Founder and Chairwoman of Global Neighbours, speaks about cooperation rooted in mutual benefit and constructive interdependence.

Mr. Gerald Podobnik identified three practical areas for closer Europe–Asia engagement: trade and the international use of currencies; sustainable finance; and deeper, more effective capital markets. He noted Europe’s pioneering role in sustainable-finance frameworks while underlining the need to simplify implementation and mobilise private capital more effectively. On the euro’s international role, he cautioned against dramatic predictions of rapid de-dollarisation and argued that Europe must first strengthen its competitiveness and produce assets and projects that global investors want to finance.

Mr. Gerald Podobnik, Co-Head of Corporate Bank at Deutsche Bank, discusses sustainable finance, capital markets and Europe–Asia economic engagement.

Stronger project pipelines, clearer investment cases, deeper capital markets and more coherent regulation are needed to turn savings into productive investment. The discussion also highlighted opportunities to improve cross-border payments through faster settlement, greater interoperability and responsible use of technologies including tokenised deposits, distributed ledgers and central-bank digital currencies—while preserving safeguards against financial crime and systemic risk.

Artificial intelligence, infrastructure and resilience

Prof. Dr. Feiyu Xu placed artificial intelligence within the wider infrastructure of energy, semiconductors, computing capacity, industrial data and skills. She observed that the United States and China currently dominate many parts of the AI ecosystem, while Europe retains significant strengths in industrial knowledge, engineering, standards and the safe deployment of technology in the physical economy. These capabilities, she argued, create a strong basis for Europe–Asia cooperation on industrial AI.

Prof. Dr. Feiyu Xu, University Professor and Head of Industry AI at the German University of Digital Science, discusses industrial AI, technological resilience and international cooperation.

She also contrasted closed, high-cost frontier models with lower-cost open-weight approaches and stressed that companies will increasingly need hybrid and multi-model strategies suited to different markets and security requirements. Alongside competitiveness, Xu called for deeper international cooperation on AI safety, cybersecurity, governance and workforce transition—particularly as AI systems, industrial robots and autonomous technologies move from digital environments into factories, infrastructure and everyday life.

Across the exchange, supply-chain resilience emerged as a shared concern. The concentration of advanced semiconductor manufacturing and testing in East Asia, combined with dependencies elsewhere in the value chain, means that disruption in one region would have global financial and economic consequences. Panellists therefore pointed to diversification, continued technological exchange and practical cooperation between companies that may simultaneously be partners and competitors.

Africa and emerging economies as active partners

Mr. Gyude Moore brought an African and emerging-market perspective to the discussion. He argued that developing and frontier economies will make technology and investment choices according to economic value, affordability and local priorities. Lower-cost open-weight AI models are already attractive in many price-sensitive markets, while a broader range of partners—from Europe and China to the Gulf states and Türkiye—has expanded the choices available to African governments.

Mr. Gyude Moore, former Minister of Public Works of Liberia, brings an African and emerging-market perspective to the discussion.

He also noted that African countries are asserting greater agency over development pathways, including through measures designed to retain more value from natural resources. Against a backdrop of tighter development budgets, growing defence expenditure and pressure on the international system, Moore warned that deeper global fragmentation would make the financing of infrastructure and other global public goods more difficult. A more inclusive financial architecture must therefore recognise emerging economies as decision-makers and partners, not simply as recipients of capital.

From dialogue to practical cooperation

Audience questions extended the conversation to geopolitical risk, the future role of the US dollar and euro, Europe–Africa relations, sustainability and cross-border payments. While the panellists differed in emphasis, a common thread was the need to preserve channels of cooperation even where political systems, regulatory models and strategic interests diverge.

Audience members engage with the panellists during the question-and-answer session on global finance, geopolitical risk, sustainability and cross-border cooperation.

Closing the session, Mr. Gene Ma noted that Europe–Asia cooperation is broader than prevailing narratives of rivalry often suggest. Infrastructure, energy, finance, artificial intelligence, education and culture continue to connect the two regions. The task ahead is to translate those connections into investable projects, compatible systems and trusted institutions capable of delivering shared prosperity in a more contested world.