“Fédération internationale de l’automobile – 5th Sport Conference”

President Todt [FIA],
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening. It is my pleasure to welcome all of you to the Palais des Nations and to the Restaurant des délégués. I would like to thank the Fédération internationale de l’automobile and President Todt for choosing to hold the 5th Sport Conference on the banks of Lake Geneva and for giving me the chance to speak to you tonight.

I would like to begin with a little bit of controversy. What is the automobile capital of the world? Is it Detroit or Stuttgart? Maybe Tokyo, Paris or – perhaps – Shanghai? Not to sound biased, but I think one could make an argument for this city: Geneva. Not only because it hosts a world famous motor show every year, but because it is in this very building – the Palais des Nations – that the rules and regulations that make today’s global car industry possible are written.

First, allow me to speak about this unique building, which was designed when international collaboration took its first halting steps in the aftermath of the First World War. Determined to prevent another conflagration, states established the League of Nations in historically-neutral Geneva. Its initial success prompted Member States to launch an international competition for a new building: the Palais des Nations. We owe its location, in part, to the first Secretary-General of the League, Sir Eric Drummond, who – understandably enough – wanted to have an office with a view of the Mont-Blanc. As the Palais took shape, however, the organization it was meant to house suffered a series of setbacks. The spirit of international collaboration buckled under the twin pressures of nationalism and economic depression. By the time the League moved into the Palais in 1936, the machinery of war and genocide were irreversibly set in motion and the League was doomed.

The Palais, however, survived the Second World War, as did the need for an international body dedicated to peace, rights and well-being. In 1946, the League dissolved itself and handed over its assets, including the Palais, to its successor: the United Nations. In the years that followed, the Palais bore witness to landmark events, such as summits between the leaders of Cold War superpowers, the negotiations on the abolition of chemical weapons and the Geneva Conference that ended colonial rule in Indochina. It was at this 1954 summit, that the People’s Republic of China made its first diplomatic appearance on the global stage, a momentous event in the history of China and the world.

Today, the Palais des Nations hosts the Syrian peace talks, as well as some 12,000 conference per year on every topic imaginable, making it the largest conference hub in the United Nations. Geneva is the major operational hub of the UN system. If the achievements made and the decisions taken in Geneva often go unnoticed, their impacts are felt every day, by all of us. Cars offer an excellent example. Here, in the Palais, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has, since 1950, pioneered international road safety regulations and set car standards that make it possible for much of the world to share one car market. Every year, the Palais hosts high-level events for the Geneva-based International Labour Organization and World Health Organization. Two organizations that – in part – help shape labour rights in the car manufacturing sector and address road safety and environmental pollution.

Home to over 100 international organizations, some 400 NGOs, a dynamic private sector and prominent academic institutions, Geneva is a unique ecosystem where proximity fosters partnerships, knowledge is shared and parties are willing to experiment together. This closeness also encourages collaboration across traditional divides, something that is now essential in all fields. Take cars, which are transitioning from the mechanical to the digital. As cars become increasingly linked to the “Internet of Things”, voice recognition and artificial intelligence, it will be necessary to set global standards through bodies based here in Geneva.

At the heart of International Geneva stands the Palais des Nations. Its walls may date from the 1930s, but its ability to bring together the peoples of the world to tackle common problems remains as relevant as ever.

I hope you have a wonderful evening.

Thank you.