Colombia’s president at the White House: Can US-Latin America tensions be resolved?

Summary

The Globalist Podcast – Episode Summary

Date: February 4, 2026
Host: Emma Nelson (Monocle Radio)
Main Theme: Colombia’s President at the White House: Can US-Latin America Tensions Be Resolved?

---

Overview

This episode of The Globalist centers on the pivotal White House meeting between US President Donald Trump and Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro. The historically tense relationship between the two leaders, compounded by public spat and accusations, gave way to a surprisingly cordial summit and a joint press conference. The episode explores what brought about this apparent “make-up,” analyzes the outcomes of their dialogue, and discusses broader regional implications—from drug policy shifts to Venezuela’s oil fields and border security. Alongside, the podcast covers major world affairs including NATO developments, unrest in Balochistan, and global cultural events.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. US-Colombia Relations: From Online Insults to the White House Handshake

Guest: Oscar Guardiola Rivera, Professor in International Law & Affairs, Birkbeck College (Colombian National)

• Background of the Rift:
  • Trump accused Petro of drug trafficking, while Petro strongly criticized US military actions in Venezuela and drug strikes in the Caribbean.
  • “The falling out between the US President and his Colombian counterpart has been a very public one. Trading insults online.” (Emma Nelson, 03:01)
• The White House Meeting:
  • Attended by key US politicians (JD Vance, Marco Rubio).
  • Both leaders were conciliatory in their post-meeting comments.
  • Trump's book signed for Petro: “I love Colombia. Honored to have met you, Gustavo.” (Oscar, 03:55)
• Press Conference Outcomes – Three Pillars of Agreement:
  1. Refocusing Anti-Drug Efforts: Shift from targeting low-level traffickers (“people in the jungle”) to the financial masterminds and transnational networks—often located in places like Dubai, Madrid, and Miami.
     • “Petro brought to the Oval Office a list of names and locations... who he claims are the real drug kingpins who do not live in Colombia.” (Oscar, 04:32)
  2. Voluntary Crop Eradication: Accelerating non-violent, voluntary methods for coca eradication.
     • “Less costly and more effective than spraying from above.” (Oscar, 05:20)
  3. Economic Development & Borders:
     • Promoting legal economies and cross-border commerce, especially along borders with Venezuela and Ecuador, to stabilize the region and undermine illicit activities.
     • For Trump, this also aligns with reactivating border economies.
• On the Reconciliation:
  • Political interests in both countries had fueled confusion and antagonism.
  • “Petro was quite clear in blaming this on a confusion caused by interested parties on both sides...” (Oscar, 06:11)
  • Trump, after their first real meeting: “Fantastic, excellent.” (Oscar, 06:58)

2. Why the Mutual Need? – Venezuela, Oil, and Security

• The Stakes:
  • US wants access to Venezuelan oil fields; Colombia’s help is pivotal for secure borders and stability.
  • Guerrilla groups like the National Liberation Army (ELN) threaten both Colombian and Venezuelan oil infrastructure.
    • “This particular guerrilla amasses huge experience in attacking oil infrastructure, blowing up pipes and that kind of thing.” (Oscar, 08:05)
• Border Economy & Social Development:
  • Open borders for goods and services (e.g., US solar panel initiatives) reduce reliance on the drug trade, creating peaceful economic alternatives.
• Regional Dynamics:
  • Collaboration promises less war, more prosperity.
  • A “Vietnam 2.0” scenario is averted, with a path toward stability outlined at the summit.

3. Regional Stability & the US-Latin America Axis

• Promise of Further Stability:
  • Meeting is seen as a turning point, with notable moves toward collaborative, less militarized solutions.
  • “The promise of further stability of cooperation and collaboration is always a better path, a more effective path, and also for Trump…a less costly path.” (Oscar, 10:30)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “[After the meeting] there’s a signature of his book, which Petro brought. And the signature says, ‘I love Colombia. Honored to having met you, Gustavo’. You know, they’re now on a first name basis.”
  — Oscar Guardiola Rivera (03:57)
• “Petro brought to the Oval Office a list of names and locations...who he claims are the real drug kingpins who do not live in Colombia, but rather in places like Dubai, Madrid…and Miami.”
  — Oscar Guardiola Rivera (04:32)
• “They need each other badly. In the case of the Venezuelan western border ... this particular guerrilla amasses huge experience in attacking oil infrastructure, blowing up pipes and that kind of thing.”
  — Oscar Guardiola Rivera (07:52)
• “The best way to go about it: allow for an open border where fruits, foodstuffs, renewable energies...If that is allowed, then the social and economic basis for getting involved in the drug business disappears.”
  — Oscar Guardiola Rivera (09:22)
• “War in that part of the region would have become, as many experts warn, a kind of Vietnam 2.0. And that is exactly what is promised to be off the table now.”
  — Oscar Guardiola Rivera (10:46)

Timestamps:

• 03:28 – Start of Colombia discussion / White House meeting debrief
• 04:32 – New approach to anti-drug efforts
• 07:49 – Mutual dependence and security dynamics
• 09:51 – Regional stability and war avoidance

---

Other Important Segments (Brief Overview & Timestamps)

NATO Support for Ukraine

• 12:35: Mark Rutte visits Kyiv to offer NATO support; Ukrainian cynicism about Western help.
• 15:25: Increased Russian missile attacks; skepticism about peace talks progress.
• 17:44: “It’s as simple as that. The talks…may come up with some sort of ceasefire, but a ceasefire is not peace.” (Stephen DL)

Unrest in Balochistan, Pakistan

• 32:23: Multiple terror attacks by the Baluchistan Liberation Army; civilians caught in crossfire; China, India, and regional militarization.
• 36:56: “The destabilization of Afghanistan next door and the breakdown in the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan is also feeding into that...” (Lyn O’Donnell)

World Government Summit Dubai

• 39:00: Tom Edwards live in Dubai: “It’s been absolutely jam packed...the readiness of people to get together to talk, to share ideas...really is incredible.”
• 41:12: Mohammad Al Shahan on Dubai’s convening power: “The UAE has always been a convener and this summit enables that convening power...discuss challenges and look for opportunities of the future.”

Global Culture & Architecture

• 48:19: Record Japanese box office performance; domestic films dominating.
• 52:52: Rotterdam’s Netherlands Photo Museum opens in a refurbished historical warehouse—symbolic of urban cultural reinvention.

---

Conclusion

This Globalist episode provided rare insight into the evolving dynamic between the US and Colombia, marked by real policy changes and a reset in personal rapport between Trump and Petro. By broadening their focus from punitive action to economic collaboration, and by addressing the roles of financial actors in drug trafficking, both leaders underscore the necessity of pragmatic, shared interest-driven diplomacy. As with the other stories of the day—from war and diplomacy in Ukraine, to unrest in Balochistan, to the neutral convening in Dubai—the episode underscores the interconnectedness of global affairs and the persistent need for honest engagement and creative solutions.

---

For Those Who Haven't Listened

This summary covers the critical points and memorable exchanges of the episode, focusing on the high-level talks between the US and Colombian presidents and placing them in their broader geopolitical, security, and economic contexts. The discussion flows from big power summits to local impacts, always emphasizing dialogue, compromise, and shifting global realities.

Transcript

[A]

Craft matters in small ways like how a coffee is brewed, and in not so small ways like how your money is cared for. Which is why for 160 years, UBS has elevated banking to a craft, tailoring unique strategies that combine human expertise with the latest technologies, all happening across 24 time zones and and 12 key financial hubs. With you at the heart of it all, UBS advice is our craft.

[B]

You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on the 4th of February, 2026 on Monocle Radio. The Globalist in association with U. Live from London. This is THE Globalist with me, Emma Nelson. A very warm welcome to today's program.

[C]

Coming up, there is no need to box.

[D]

We do not hit each other.

[C]

We do not ruin each other. I like you, he told me.

[B]

The leaders of the US And Colombia make up will examine a White House meeting where Donald Trump and Gustavo Petro set aside their very public differences. Also ahead in the next 60 minutes, the NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutter heads to Kyiv to offer support. Meanwhile, Russia's bombing of Ukraine's infrastructure continues unabated. We'll find out why the Pakistani region of Balochistan is experiencing unrest.

[E]

And I'm Tom Edwards, part of the Monocle delegation here at the world government summit in Dubai. And a little later, I'll tell you what you can be expecting to hear from the event today. Plus, we'll introduce some remarks from the boss of this amazing jamboree. Do stay tuned.

[B]

We will be checking in with Tom and the team in Dubai a little bit later on. Plus, we'll go through the papers too. That's all coming up on the Globalist live from London. First, a quick look at what else is happening in today's news. Saif al Islam Gaddafi, the second son of Libya's late former leader Mohammed Gaddafi, has been killed at his home by gunmen. NATO has begun planning for an enhanced vigilance mission entitled Arctic Sentry. A spokesman said it would strengthen NATO's position in the region. And the last nuclear arms control agreement between Russia and the United States expires today. Stay tuned to Monocle Radio throughout the day for more on these stories. But first, the falling out between the US President and his Colombian counterpart has been a very public one. Trading insults online. Donald Trump had accused the left wing Gustavo Petro of being involved in drug trafficking. Mr. Petro has been strongly critical of America's military action in Venezuela and strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. Well, yesterday, however, the two men held a private meeting behind closed doors at the White House Followed by quite a lively press conference. So what happened and have they made up? Well, I'm joined now in the studio by Oscar Guardiola Rivera, who's a professor in international law and International affairs at Birkbeck College and a Colombian. Good morning. How are you, Oscar?

[C]

I'm very happy to be here, Emma.

[B]

Pleased to. Right. So pleased to see these two men making up.

[C]

Absolutely. According to all those involved, the encounter between Trump and Petro was a total success. J.D. vance was there, Marco Rubio was there, everybody were there. And actually, you know, both of them were kind of tight lip after the encounter. Thereafter, we had a few words from President Trump, a few images in which one of which is a signature of his book, which Petro brought. And the signature says, I love Colombia. Honored to having met you, Gustavo. You know, they're now on a first name basis. And Petro gave an interesting press conference. Three main lines of agreement came out of this successful encounter. First one to a shift from hitting the so called second line of drug traffickers, you know, the people in the jungle, the peasants in the jungle, and to go instead for what President Petro calls the first line, that is to say, those who are in command of the financial infrastructures of drug trafficking. Petro brought to the Oval Office a list of names and locations of these who he claims are the real drug kingpins who do not live in Colombia, but rather in places like Dubai, Madrid in Spain and or Miami. Second, to accelerate the voluntary eradication of the plant, which is less costly and more effective than, you know, spreading from above. And finally, to move the Venezuelan Colombian borders and the Ecuadorian Colombian borders towards legal economies. This is very important, particularly for Trump's plan to reactivate. There were clear signs of collaboration, both military and in terms of reactivating the economy of these parts of the region.

[B]

You mentioned venezuela, which obviously, Mr. Petro had been very, very critical of what America did in Venezuela. I think it's exactly a month ago since Nicolas Maduro was taken from Caracas Novato to New York. You've just laid out a wonderful list of good things that happened. But how had we got to the point where these two men had engaged in a rather, dare we say it, unedifying spat online?

[C]

Well, Petro was quite clear in blaming this on a confusion caused by interested parties on both sides to dismantle what has been, and this is absolutely true, a long historical good relationship. Colombia has been the most important partner of the US in the region for a very long time. But, you know, Petro did mention in his press conference, the fact that interested political elements in the opposition in Colombia who are or may be connected to the drug business did spread lies, half truths and so on. And this caused the kind of confusion that President Trump also alluded to when he pointed out after the meeting yesterday that he had not met Petro personally before. And having done so, he had a very different idea. In fact, his words were his. Fantastic, excellent.

[B]

How much does each man need the other one? Because we've talked about the issue of Venezuela and the United States fresh interest in introducing American firms towards Venezuela's oil fields. But how much does the United States actually need Petro's help to make sure that the border is secure, to ensure that America can do what it needs to do. And in return, how much does Colombia need the United States here?

[C]

You're absolutely right, Emma. They need each other badly. In the case of the Venezuelan western border, which is the eastern border of Colombia, it is very clear that the oil production takes place along the Orinoco River. And that particular area is also the place where the National Liberation Army, a former guerrilla, now a criminal gang that operates on both sides of the border, has been doing so for over 60 years. This particular guerrilla amasses huge experience in attacking oil infrastructure, blowing up pipes and that kind of thing. And it has been a thorn on the side of put President Petro for a very long time. Petro tried to offer an open hand peace negotiations. The ELN dismissed them and engaged in a campaign of terrorizing the local population. And it threatens also the Venezuelan oil infrastructure. Some say that they had been working with some of the more oppressive elements in Maduro's regime. Therefore, there is a very clear mutual interest here. And that was a result from this encounter. And in terms of the economy, it is very clear if you were to allow for an open border where fruits, foodstuffs, renewable energies. There is a US Company that built a massive solar panel facility on the eastern, the Colombian side of the border. That is allowed, then the social and economic basis for getting involved in the drug business disappears. And that would be the best way to go about it.

[B]

Indeed, how much more regional stability does yesterday's meeting now promise? Given the fact that we have seen an inordinate amount of focus on the likes of Costa Rica, on Cuba, on Venezuela, and also on Colombia when Latin America suddenly became sort of fell into the crosshairs of Donald Trump focus, does this now bode a more settled path?

[C]

Of course, we didn't get detailed announcements or very clear declarations of plans, but it does promise a better, more stable, less war driven path. President Petro referred to the fact that only a few weeks ago the Caribbean region, which has historically been marked as a peaceful region, an area of peace, was heading towards war. And that, of course, would not have been convenient to anyone. So the promise of further stability of cooperation and collaboration is always a better path, a more effective path, and also for Trump, very important, a less costly part. War in that part of the region would have become, as many experts warn, a kind of Vietnam 2.0. And that is exactly what is promised to be off the table. Now.

[B]

Oscar Guardiola Rivera, professor in international law and international affairs at Birkbeck College here in London. Thank you so much for joining me in the studio. You're listening to the Globalist. Nine eleven in Kyiv, 7:11am here in London. Now, Russia mounted its most vicious attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure this week following a brief pause to account for the freezing weather. Ukraine, therefore, is under attack once again and is in need of international demonstrations, demonstrations of support. Step up. Mark Rutter providing that this week as a NATO secretary general paid a visit to Kyiv. What did he achieve, however? Well, I'm joined now by Stephen DL, Russia analyst and regular Monocle Radio contributor. Good morning, Stephen. Hope all is well with you. What was the purpose of Mr. Russia's visit?

[F]

I think really it's a way of showing that NATO hasn't forgotten about Ukraine, although I think that many Ukrainians will be somewhat cynical about it. This war has now gone on for longer than the Soviet Union was involved in the Second World War and what they call the Great Patriotic War. And although there's been support from the west, there's been weaponry sent from the West, Ukrainians, I think, have got into a position where they're thinking we've got to do this ourselves somehow. And Mark Rutte was saying very good things about the weaponry being sent from the West. But of course, in the background of the whole thing, he didn't mention in his speech Mr. Trump at all. But he is there. Trump is there. And Trump not now giving weaponry to Ukraine, allowing Western countries, European countries to buy the weapons. And then if they want to give them to Ukraine, that's fine. That's a real step back as far as, as far as Ukraine is concerned. And of course, he's in the background in NATO as well. You know, there is talk in the west of, you know, is this the end of NATO? Is the end of NATO approaching fast? Because can we rely on Trump support? So I think it was a gesture. It was A positive gesture that Mark Rutter, Secretary General of NATO, went to Kyiv and spoke to Ukrainian people. Very, very impressive speech he gave. But what's behind it?

[B]

Indeed, there was a rather unpleasant, unkind comment made about the NATO secretary General yesterday, which was, is Mark Rutter a secretary or a general?

[F]

Yes. I hadn't heard that one, but I agree, it is rather unkind. He's in a very difficult position because when the very status of your organization, which has been the foundation of peace in the west since 1949, when it's being called into question because the biggest player is casting doubts over its allies, over the organization itself, then he's not exactly head of something. It doesn't exist anymore. But it's a worrying time. So, sadly, as in so many conversations these days, we do keep coming back to Trump. But I think the crucial thing as well, and he referred to this in his major speech, was this attack on Russia. Russia by Russia on Kyiv. Again, as you mentioned, I mean, 75 ballistic missiles. This is the big change this time. There's been a number of huge attacks with drones and missiles in the last few months. In fact, I think it's something that the Alaska summit that Trump called with Putin last year, the only change from the Russian side is that since the Alaska summit, Putin has upped the number of missile and drone attacks, and this time, you know, 75 ballistic missiles. I've been talking to Ukrainians and they say, well, you know, we're used to attacks in some way. If you live in Kyiv, you know, you get an alert on your phone saying it's coming. If it's, if it says it's drones, we think, okay, well, we can cope with that. If it's ballistic missiles, that's when you go to the bomb shelters, because a ballistic missile is a far more serious weapon than a drone.

[B]

Just looking ahead at the moment, we've got Ukraine and Russia due to begin more peace talks in Abu Dhabi coordinated by the United States. What are we expecting from there?

[F]

More of the same. That is lots of talk and no real results coming from it. Until President Putin stops firing missiles, until he actually shows that he's prepared to find some sort of compromise, rather than saying, well, we've got to take these four territories in Eastern Ukraine, which are now part of the Russian constitution, plus Crimea, then I can't see that talks can get anywhere. Yes, it's better to be talking than not talking. But it's going round in a vicious circle which is really not producing anything concrete. There has to be a change of position by the Russians. But until Putin gets something that he can show his people is some sort of victory, that is those five regions, four oblast regions and Crimea, unless he can say these are now part of Russia, then he runs the risk of people turning around and saying not only the Russian people saying this is not what we've lost over a million men for. This is nothing like a victory. And then he's terrified of the Russian people, he's terrified of those around him turning on him, not only removing him as president, but removing him permanently by cutting his head off. I mean, that's his big fear. He's afraid of the Russian people far more than he's afraid of NATO or the West.

[B]

So where does this then go? When you do have the ostensible talks happening and you have Mark Rutter, you have all the machinations of the rules based order in place, yet what you speak of there is it will have to be either victory or defeat for Putin.

[F]

That's what it comes down to. It really does come down. It's as simple as that. The talks, maybe not these ones, but others in the months ahead may come up with some sort of ceasefire, but a ceasefire is not peace. And, and the real fear for Ukrainians, and it is a genuine fear, is that there will be some sort of ceasefire, but that will just give Russia a chance to rearm and it'll attack again what a real peace would mean. And in fact, Mark Rutte in his speech referred to this. It's that the Ukrainians want something which is not like the Budapest memorandum of 1994 which gave supposed security guarantees which ultimately accounted for nothing. Not the Minsk agreements which followed the invasion seizure of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of the first parts of eastern Ukraine, which were worthless. They need some genuine security guarantees by which they know that Russia will be deterred from attacking them again. And we're a long way off from that.

[B]

Stephen DL Russia analyst and regular Monocle contributor. Thank you for joining me in the studio. Still to come in today's program, that's.

[G]

The power of Dubai convening everyone in a very neutral way that really pushes the messages of what matters to the future of governance and government services.

[B]

That's Mohammed Al Shahan from the world government summit in Dubai. We'll be finding a little bit more about it later on today.

[A]

Craft is a matter of perspective, a unique outlook, an obsessive attention to detail. With UBS Chief Investment Office HouseView, we're focused on identifying the latest investment opportunities and market risks to help you Achieve your financial goals so you get the big picture broken down into thought provoking insights delivered daily and curated by over 200 globally connected, locally active analysts. UBS banking is our craft.

[B]

Newspaper Time, everybody. Latika, book writer at large for the Australian news publication the Nightly has literally, literally brought the papers in. I have.

[A]

Can you hear the crackle crack? Snapple pot. Isn't it a lovely sound? It's the most rustling of papers I love.

[B]

Satisfying.

[A]

I find it very comforting.

[B]

Much more agreeable than a swipe the.

[A]

Silent scroll of doom.

[B]

How are we looking? Smart.

[A]

Oh, thanks. I feel a bit chirpier than normal this morning. Emma, how are you?

[B]

Very well, thank you. What have you spotted?

[A]

Okay, a few. Let's start with the serious. This is actually buried in a lot of the papers today. And the next story will make clear why. But I feel it is important to start with this one because we have not really heard a lot about Iran so much lately. We heard Donald Trump's promises to the brave Iranian protesters that he was sending help. It would be on their way. Tens, you know, we think thousands have been slaughtered in Iran since then. But we do know that the US has sent military armada, they call it to, to Iran. Now yesterday we have the first, I guess, scuffle where a US fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that approached a U. S Aircraft carrier, a part of this armada in the Arabian Sea yesterday. So what was the drone? It was an Iranian Shahed139. I'll have to double check that, but that sounds familiar to the sort used in Ukraine in the, in the war against Ukraine. It was flying towards the USS Abra Lincoln. Lincoln and was hit by an F35 jet. Okay, so why is this significant? Well, it's only on page two of the times. You'd think in any ordinary day that might be a page one story. But Emma, this is the first real kinetic confrontation between the US and Iran. And it's also a reflection of how much warfare has changed since the war in Ukraine because Iran is sending relatively cheap, unmanned shahed drones to suss out perhaps whatever this armada is, is doing, intends to do. And we have some quotes here from US Central Command saying that the drone aggressively approached the aircraft carrier with an unclear intent. Now, some might think that's a little contradictory. How do you know that the drone has aggressive intent if it's unclear what it's, what it's about. But nevertheless, the US is using, just as we saw when these drones went into Polish airspace late last year, fighter jets very, very Expensive, exquisite capability against relatively cheap drones.

[B]

An F35 taking on a small drone, not necessarily a small drone, but a drone nonetheless, seems to be an enormous symbolic exercise of muscle here.

[A]

Yeah, it's a total mismatch.

[B]

And the New York Times is talking about the fact that talking a drone, taking down a drone the way the United States did just in the last day or so is very, very unusual. The last time that anything remotely comparable happened was what, six, seven years ago.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So I think this is a bit of an issue to watch because whether this spills into something, whether this armada is actually going to do anything serious and meaningful in terms of a strike against Tehran, against the regime, and come to the aid and rescue of these brave protesters, as President Trump has previously promised, but appears to be reneging on it, does also depend on the negotiations. And we have now also some movement on that. Oman, for example, wants to be the host country to mediate whatever might take place between the United States and Iran. But with the subject matter, they're really focusing down and specifying nuclear program as opposed to the regime's unkind of unquestioned and unchecked slaughter of its own people. There's not a lot of good news, I don't think, in this.

[B]

Okay, let's move on to. I think it's been a long time since you brought in the story, son, to talk to us about things, but this is to do with the continued the, the, the consequences of the publication of more, although just a scratch of the Epstein documents, but it has brought down one of the key players of the, of the British government for of decades standing.

[A]

I've got to say, Fleet street gets a bad rap sometimes. And the sound chief among them for being a tabloid paper. But this to me is the power of a tabloid. When they ruthlessly and relentlessly go after people who think they are above scrutiny checks and the law. And chief among them is the man who's become really the totem worldwide, one of them now of the Epstein scandal, and that is Britain's former Prince Andrew now Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. So, yes, first broken by the sun, he was I guess evicted from the Royal Lodge overnight and in the darkness was taken to a cott, decamped there to live. So the suggestion is that the king, King Charles, has kicked him out and said, no more. You're not even going to live here. So it's been a very, very extremely public fall from grace for Andrew. He's lost not only now his title, all his military titles, his home. He doesn't have many places to go. And I think after the release of these Epstein Epstein files, there is still a lot more that is waiting for him in store.

[B]

Indeed. I mean, the way that the sun writes this, it actually talks. It just talks just as much to the style of the tabloid press that they write in the most pithy manner. If anybody ever doubts the skills behind the tabloid writers, then just read this. It's so simple. He's driven 132 miles to Sandringham and taken into a Norfolk state in darkness to avoid being seen. It's the idea that the picture painted here is not just the downfall of the prince of the King's brother, but this complete exile that has to leave under the COVID of darkness.

[A]

It's the picture you don't see that they paint with words. And as you say, it's the exact exquisite capability that sometimes only the tabloid, and I would say British tabloids really get right. But alongside this story, Emma, is the real deal here, which is the Mandelson, Peter Mandelson, the so called prince of darkness, the labor absolute icon who been hailed for so many years in labor circles as the man to have led Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's victories electorally. Well, he is front and center in the fallout from the latest dump of Epstein files. And now it looks like things might finally be catching up with him. The Met has announced overnight and this is on the front page of just about, about every single paper this morning. You will not escape this story that Peter Mandelson is now going to be investigated. And this is because some diligent digging into these 3 million files released late last week or on the weekend seems to show that Peter Mandelson, while in government as business secretary was using that position to forward on to Jeffrey Epstein sensitive information, market based information against his own government and in what has been deemed as potentially criminal or allegedly criminal, but also highly unpatriotic. Now, overnight, Peter Mandelson, who was a lord, who is a lord, has said he will no longer sit in the House of Lords. But he is also facing a far more serious episode now than he might have thought. And we will see where all this leads. But it looks like for at least a few of these men on this side of the Atlantic, things are catching up.

[B]

Finally, let's talk about the Nightly or my paper, your paper, my paper, your paper. And Ocelot von der Leyen, you. The president of the European Commission is in Australia.

[A]

Not yet, but she's heading that way. And we have reported overnight that she might be about to sign a big trade deal with Australia. This has been. I'm so happy to hear this news because this has been in the works for so many years. Talks began in 2018, but of course the EU is famously protectionists. Don't need anyone in post Brexit Britain to be reminded about this. But in the last few months, the EU has been turning right around. It signed a massive trade deal with the MERCOSUR countries in South America, creating one of the world's largest trade zones. Then on Republic Day, she was in India and she signed there a massive trade and security deal with India, which. Which has also been battered by Donald Trump's tariffs. Now, it looks like the trifecta may be in Australia and Australia is very hardcore on trade. We have jettisoned these, these talks. Indeed.

[B]

And why does Australia need a trade deal with the eu?

[A]

Well, the same reason we are a free trading nation and we take great offence that the EU subsidises its farmers and then has a big crying match about, you know, a few thousand tonnes of beef being allowed into their sector. But what absolutely changed the game is the man in the White House on Liberation Day. Do you remember this? When Donald Trump announced Tariff Day tariffs against penguins in the Heard Islands? Well, that was the day. It was the middle of the election campaign. In fact. I was there watching the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's press conference and he singled out the EU as one of the trade deals they were now going to go back and try and reopen. That night, the Australian Trade Minister rang the EU Trade Commissioner, Mara Szerkovic. They spoke for 60 Minutes and said, let's see if we can finally do this. Just finally, it may be about to happen. We've reported that Ursula von der Leyen has scheduled in a trip straight after Munich's security conference next week and she will head to Australia and not just sign a trade deal, but a security partnership and a deal also aimed at unlocking Australia's critical minerals. It's something the United States is trying to eagerly get its paws on, all because of two threats that the trading world now faces. The United States. Whoever thought. Whoever thought we'd be saying this, but here we are. And China.

[B]

Nasuke Burke, writer at large for the Australian news publication the Nightly. Thank you so much for joining me in the studio. You're listening to the Globalist. Now here's a quick look at some of the stories we're keeping an eye on today. Saif Al Islam Gaddafi, the second son of Libya's late former leader, Muhammad Gaddafi, has been killed at his home by gunmen. His political allies have called for an international investigation. He was once seen as a potential future ruler of liberty.

[A]

Libya.

[B]

NATO has begun planning for an enhanced vigilance mission entitled Arctic Sentry. A spokesman said it would strengthens NATO's position in the region. The last nuclear arms control agreement between Russia and the United States expires today. It ends all legal restraints on their arsenals. Signed in 2010, the New START treaty limited each country to only deploy about 1500 strategic nuclear warheads. And the US retail giant Walmart has achieved a trillion dollar market valuation after a one year share price rise of 26%. Although known to cater for low income shoppers, rising inflation and a slow job market have pushed wealthier customers to Walmart's shops. And those are the headlines on the Global. The time is 12:31 in Islamabad, 8:31am in Zurich. Now dozens of people have been killed during a recent series of terror attacks in Balochistan, a mineral rich area of Pakistan. The region's struggling with a separatist insurgency and it's posing a serious challenge to the capital, Islamabad. To tell us more, I'm joined now by Lyn o', Donnell, columnist for Foreign Policy magazine and a former AP and AFP bureau chief in Afghanistan and a regular voice here on Monocle Radio. Good morning. Hi Emma. We are talking about some ferocious battles in Balochistan, aren't we?

[H]

Well, it was a pretty severe spike up in decades of violence, really. But yes, you're right, it was multiple coordinated attacks over Baluchistan province in Pakistan by the Baluchistan Liberation army. And yes, tens of people killed. It's very difficult to know through the fog of misinformation and disinformation on both sides sides exactly what the casualty rate was. But civilians certainly caught in the crossfire.

[B]

What's caused this flare up?

[H]

Well, this has been going on for a very long time. Baluchistan is an enormous province, the biggest in Pakistan, but it's the most sparsely populated and potentially the wealthiest. It has enormous resources, mostly of gas, but minerals. It is on the coast of the Arabian Sea and it is the focus of Pakistan's economic relationship with China. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor, as it's called, which is a multi billion dollar investment and loans scheme by which China essentially funds the Pakistani economy. But Baluch people say, and have been saying for many decades, well, since province was absorbed into Pakistan in 1948, that they are essentially marginalized from any development. The people there are extremely poor and the development basically locks them Out. So there's a huge port called Gwada that has been built on the Arabian Sea that is fenced and securitised so that local people don't go there, they don't get jobs. The Chinese bring in their own people. And the same goes as with the gas developments. And so this simmering disaffection with the central authorities in Islamabad has been growing. The insurgency has also been growing. It attracts people from outside, for instance, in Afghanistan, where there are about half a million Baloch people. And there is also suspicions, likely not unfounded, that India is also helping fund the, the uprisings and the spikes in violence in order to further destabilise an already very troubled Pakistan government.

[B]

I mean, you mentioned there the drawing in of India and the fact that the Chinese have financial interests, business interests in the region. How does that change things when you have an international touch?

[H]

Well, the Pakistani authorities, the government in Islamabad is becoming increasingly close to the military. People in Pakistan say that they are living under a hybrid system which is essentially becoming a security state, including changes to the constitution that give the executive branch greater control over the judiciary, for instance. So the role of China has been extremely important in the Pakistan economy because there is very little, little domestic economic activity, huge unemployment. The farmers, which should be the backbone of the country, are also increasingly marginalized. Underfunded flooding destroys agricultural land. Pakistan becomes an importer of agricultural goods that it should be producing itself. And the tensions with India don't go away. Pakistan's focus is on what it calls a threat from India, an existential threat from India. And I think that the tensions there have led to a greater involvement of Indian intelligence operations and military intelligence operations in destabilization and Balochistan. And the Baloch separatist organizations are an obvious place for them to be with that goal.

[B]

So what are the long term threats to stability in Pakistan in that context?

[H]

Well, I don't think that the Baloch threat is going to go away. The Pakistani authorities seem incapable of recognizing that if they talk to Baluch people, rather than attack them, sequester them and militarize their area, disappear activists, that this is only going to get worse. The destabilization of Afghanistan next door and the breakdown in the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan is also feeding into that as the Taliban are sending proxies into vulnerable areas of Pakistan to attack the government. And then you have the destabilization on the Iran border as well, where there is also a big population of Baloch who are sympathetic to the separatist causes inside Pakistan. And it is an extremely unstable and volatile situation that the government in Islamabad appears appears to be either incapable or unwilling to solve through talks and proper governance rather than securitization and repression.

[B]

Lyn o', Donnell, columnist for Foreign Policy magazine and former AP and AFP bureau chief in Afghanistan. Thank you for joining us on the Globalist here with Monocle Radio. It's illuminating 11:38am in Dubai, which is where we head next because the city's playing host this week as the World Government Summit kicks off in the desert city under the theme Shaping Future Government. The annual gathering has become a rather densely packed fixture on the international diplomatic calendar. While Monocle's team is out there, we have a cafe, we have a pop up studio. We're talking to presidents, prime ministers and we're going to talk to our head of radio right now, Tom Edwards. Good morning, Tom. How's it going in June?

[E]

By Good morning, Emma. Well listen, you said densely packed. I can absolutely assure our assembled listeners around the globe of how densely packed it is. I literally 60 seconds ago finished speaking to the President of Kosovo, an incredible conversation, amazing ambition that she was telling us about. We've also had the prime minister of Georgia that come to visit us early this morning to name but two. I've just seen Andrew Tuck return from moderating a panel. It, it's been absolutely jam packed and it is incredible. I think we spoke about this at the iteration of WGS that I attended last year, that the readiness of people to get together to talk, to share ideas and actually to then fashion out some really forward looking policies and agreements is so arresting here. It's, it's a really, a really incredible event.

[B]

What exactly are people wanting to talk about and achieve?

[E]

Well, Emma, look, unsurprisingly, there are a couple of areas of critical focus. I think, you know, local, the local geopolitics at the moment is very tense. The status of Iran, you know, Mr. Trump's beautiful armada, etc. Etc. That that looms are somewhat large. And of course, look, there's the Abu Dhabi brokered trilaterals which are sort of ongoing between Russia, you know, the US And Ukraine, a meeting that it was said in some quarters would be impossible to coordinate. The UAE's played a critical role in making that happen. So those are two of the kind of key topics. But people want to talk about opportunity. I think this is why the Monocle Agenda strikes a chord here. It's opportunity oriented. It's very optimistic too. But listen, Emma, don't just take my word for It I know we're going to listen to, to some tape in just a second. You know, one of the people we've spoken to is kind of the boss of wgs, a man with whom Monocle's worked very closely, who I think can do a better, a better job than me at articulating exactly the kind of opportunity that this event throws up.

[B]

Let's have a listen to it. Thank you for that, Tom. Yes. It was a conversation between our editor in chief, Andrew Tuck, and the managing director of the event, Mohammed Al Shahan. Andrew began by asking him what the appeal of the World Government Summit is for such a large cohort of global leaders. Leaders.

[G]

The government summit has been growing year after year and we have seen exponential growth over the last couple of years. Let me give you some numbers and let's compare these numbers. Last year we had 27 presidents and prime ministers coming to the summit. If you look at the numbers today, we just had the confirmation of the 47th president and the Prime Minister to come and participate at the World Government Summit. This is by itself affirms the positioning and the credibility of the UAE as a platform today. The UAE has always been a convener and this summit enables that convening power of the UAE by having everyone from every single part around the world to come participate, speak, discuss challenges and look for opportunities of the future.

[C]

What's interesting is the people speaking here are across a political spectrum. Many people are interested in business and maybe elsewhere in the world that they would perhaps have more cross words with each other or they would bring out their grievances. There's something about the way that you run this, maybe using Emirati culture, that the notion of the majalis, this idea of sitting down and listening to other people. It's a really interesting event because you get to hear what everybody thinks and maybe you don't agree with everybody, but it's done in an extraordinary, respectful way. Do you think that's another appeal about wg?

[G]

I think the positioning today of the World Government Summit becoming one of the largest, I would say non political platforms for governments is what makes it appealing for governments. You look at these governments, they go to different platforms, different conferences, but the conversation is always political. Andrew, here at the summit you will see most of the conversations. It looks at how a government should operate in the future, how a government should utilize AI, how can we improve government services or healthcare services or healthcare systems? I think the positivity and the positive look at the future from the government lens is what made people come and decide to come to the World Government Summit. The other aspect I think is the neutrality and the availability of the platform for everyone. Look at the people who are coming here to speak. They represent almost every single part of the world and every single sector of the world. Where would you see someone from like a CEO of a big Chinese tech giant speaking in a panel after an American tech giant, after each other? I think that's the power of Dubai, convening everyone in a very neutral way that really pushes the messages of what matters to the future of governance and government services.

[C]

And tell me from Dubai, what's the significance of this event? Because it certainly puts you on the map. And we've been seeing just in recent days the within the greater region, within the uae, for example, the hosting of talks between Russia and Ukraine, that you are increasingly a convener of conversation and the power of conversation.

[G]

In fact, there were a couple of.

[C]

Panels this morning literally about the need to talk to each other, put down our phones and engage. What does it do for Dubai?

[B]

Wgs?

[G]

If you look at Dubai, it has always been the hub. Look at some of the great innovations of this nation. Let's take Emirates for example. Emirates made Dubai a hub for tourism, for aviation, for people to move from two parts of the world through Dubai. Look at DP World, for example. DP World also made the UAE a convener for logistics, global trade. Today, 10% of global trade goes through the network that's managed by DP World. So this is just a continuation of the Dubai and the UAE has been doing over the years. We look back in history as well. You would see evidence of Dubai being a convener of trade between the Indians and the Egyptians. And there is an artifact site not too far from here that proves that Dubai has always been the land for people to come and meet and convene. The summit today embodies that spirit of Dubai and the UAE as a convener. I think the other aspect is the diversity, diversity of the people that are coming. So you will see the Prime Minister of Spain, while also seeing the Prime Minister of Commonwealth, Dominica and some of the island states in the Caribbean, but at the same time, some leaders from Africa and Eastern Europe, China, Southeast Asia, they are all here regardless to any geopolitical tensions or untrust between different nations or different geographies. Just for one mission to think about the future. How can we have a dialogue that leads to some impactful conversations following the World Government Summit?

[C]

I know from organizing events with Monocle when we have like maybe 25 speakers coming in. What a stress it is. And I know the logistics that go into that. You've got nearly 40 prime ministers and presidents all needing hotel rooms, all with entourages, all special needs planes coming in every hour of the day. How stressful stressful is it running the logistics for all of that?

[G]

Well, it is very stressful. So if you look at my whoop numbers now, I think it will be in the red zone, but I don't want even to look. But the good thing about the World Government Summit, everyone feels that they are part of the summit and whenever they come next year, they all want to provide the support to extend the support. So the whole UAE becomes the World Government Summit team. I'm privileged enough to have the UAE leaders behind supporting the summit by inviting the leaders to come to the uae, most of the UAE agencies. Maybe one thing to add and I think that's not something that everyone would know. The World Government Summit from a financial point of view is fully supported through a corporate membership program. And that what made the summit also being embraced by those members who are part of our community. So if Google for example, is a member, they feel that they are part of the success of this organization and it applies to all the other members. Today we have 61 members from all over the world and without the support of those members, the summit would have never grown to what it is today.

[B]

And that was Mohammed Al Shahan, who's managing director of the World Government Summit, speaking to Monocle's Editor in chief Andrew Tuck in Dubai. And thanks also to our head of radio, Tom Edwards for joining me a little moment ago to tee up what they're up to today in Dubai. You're listening to the Globalist.

[A]

Iq, EQ and AI. Three components key to the craft of innovation at ubs. Because to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving age, you need a partner with decades of experience, endless passion for the work and a finger on the pulse of leading technologies. Bridging human expertise, expertise with artificial intelligence, all to elevate you. UBS banking is our craft.

[B]

It's 1647 in Tokyo, which is where we head now. Times are good at the Japanese box office last year revenue hit almost $2 billion, which was a record high with major hits such as a Demon Slayer film series bringing people into cinemas. Well, to tell us more about good news, I'm joined now from our Tokyo studio by Matt Schley, a Tokyo based reporter and critic for publications including the Japan Times and Screen International. Good afternoon, Matt.

[I]

Thank you for having me.

[B]

This is all Good stuff. What's happening?

[I]

Well, as you mentioned, it's technically the highest number ever at the Japanese box office. This is of course not adjusted for inflation, but still a big deal. You mentioned Demon Slayer up at the top of this and that has been a huge change chunk of last year's box office takings. It is now the second highest grossing film in Japan ever. The film at the top is the is the last Demon Slayer film. So this is a giant franchise based on a popular manga and it's also got television adaptations and series. It's been going on for a few years now. And it's hard to overstate. You know what a huge chunk of the box office that was. More kind of surprisingly is the film that came in second place in 2025, which is called Kokohou. People might know it because it's up for an Academy Award now in the makeup section. Nonetheless, it was also a huge hit, kind of a surprise hit because it's a three hour epic about Kabuki. Not really on paper, what you'd think would be a huge hit, but people here really responded to that film as well.

[B]

Kabuki being the very, very over the top Japanese film theatre genre and it has a Yakuza in it and it feels like a very, very Japanese film. What did that say about the way that the Japanese film world is operating at the minute? Is there, I mean, how much of a celebration of national creativity is it?

[I]

There's definitely a huge embrace of Japanese cinema. Japanese films made up 75% of the overall box office last year. And this has been a trend for the last few years. So yes, there's a huge embrace of kind of domestic filmmaking over Hollywood imports.

[B]

And tell me a little bit about the tastes of Japanese filmgoers. And you mentioned there the fact that Demon Slayer has done incredibly well. It's done very well absolutely everywhere. Then you talk about the Kokuho film, which is understandably sort of absolutely steeped in national pride. But the fact remains is that the rest of the world doesn't seem to want to go to the cinema quite as much as so. And it is proving challenges for box offices globally. So why are the Japanese bucking this trend? Do we know?

[I]

Well, there's a lot of, again, there's a lot of enthusiasm for these kind of established properties. You see, for example, the number three slot, Detective Conan, which is a long running series of films about a kind of a Sherlock Holmes esque child detective. These films come out annually and they're kind of a traditional for now, families who've grown up on this. The number four film is Chainsaw Man. Similarly, this is a manga adaptation. People love the manga. People love the television series. Same for number five, number six. So you have a lot of people that go to the theater once or twice a year, and when they go, they want to see these established properties that they know and have grown up with. They don't really want to take a chance.

[B]

How much scope is there now, therefore, for Japan and its government and its film industry to start pushing this all harder overseas because it's clearly working at home. But what about the international? Global market?

[I]

Yeah, that's a great question. So the government has put a lot more money recently into kind of subsidies for filmmaking here than they have before anime and stuff being popular. Broadway has been kind of a natural process, if you will. People have licensed the films and they've done really well abroad without the government doing a whole lot about it. Now they've realized, oh, we've got this great chance. People are embracing our films abroad. Let's put a bit more money into it. So I think there's a lot of room for Japanese film to travel overseas.

[B]

Matslaye, thank you so much for joining us. From our Tokyo bureau, you're listening to the Globalist on Monocor Radio. Finally, on today's program, a roundup of architecture and design news. We head to Rotterdam for that. Tim Abrams is contributing editor to the Architectural Record and a regular voice here to fill us in on what's happening. Good morning, Tim. How's Rotterdam looking?

[D]

Good morning, Emma. It's very nice, actually. By very nice, you mean it's not absolutely freezing like it was in Oslo, where I've just been slightly gray, temperature around 4 or 5.

[B]

Okay, excellent. Thank you for the weather forecast. What's happening in Rotterdam?

[D]

What's happening in Rotterdam? The Netherlands Photo Museum is opening today. It's been a long, quite difficult process for the Photo Museum to arrive at its new warehouse, refurbished headquarters. It's called the Santos Building, named after the importer of Brazilian coffee beans for whom the warehouse was originally its home. It's been refurbished. The Photo Museum is moving in and the process by which it left its previous headquarters and lost its director in quite a messy circumstance of accusations of bullying and so on. It seems to be fading into the background. And now we see this beautiful building with an incredible collection left by, created by an amazing gift by a lawyer, an amateur photographer of some 20 million guilder, so the building could live and breathe. It's going to be great. I'M looking forward to seeing that later on today.

[B]

Excellent. We are glad to hear it. And it's one of those stories, isn't it, when you have to overcome quite a lot of trouble, which is what the Photo Museum has had to done, the anticipation is even greater, isn't it?

[G]

It is.

[D]

I mean, one of the things as well is that there was a kind of feeling that the museum was being shoehorned into this building because of the wider development about the Reinh. And there's a huge project here to turn this formerly industrial dock from whence many people left Europe to go to the United States. And also thousands of tons of product was arrived and departed from. It's been turned into a wet water park and beach, which seems utterly incredible. But there it is before us, slowly taking shape. And the museum, it was felt, was like it was being put there to give that a cultural cache to the area. But there is something very compelling about its presence there. The warehouse has been beautifully adapted. There's this lovely crown structure on top of it, which has been added at a subsequent date. And you really get the sense that the center of the cultural center of Rotterdam is shifting to the south to a degree. And there is a very new quality to this district. It feels very different and it feels very unique and unlike anywhere else in Europe.

[B]

Let's talk a little bit more about newness and the creations of new districts. And the fact you hinted earlier that you'd just fallen off a plane from Oslo, there was a very good reason why you'd been there.

[D]

This is slightly different. The refurbishment. One gets the sense now that there is a lot of cultural institutions moving into old buildings which are being refurbished. And it's not just about an environmental quality. There's also, because of the times in which we live in, I don't think we live in particularly more dangerous times than previously, but we do live in times in which the changes that we are witnessing, we don't quite understand them. And actually the refurbishment of old buildings gives us, in a cultural sense, a sense of resilience. And that is very much the quality that one got from the government district refurbishment in Oslo 2011 was the event, the terrorist attack, from whence this refurbishment comes. It's taken a long time for the north Norwegians to decide exactly what they wanted to do. They've taken the time. There's a lot of discussion about should they move the government district around the city into different departments, or should they keep it consolidated with this presenter target the decision to take a Norwegian practice a Very practice who built the airport, who are based in the city, who've built a very quite conservative series of buildings, refurbished the 1958 ministry building, the public squares that have been created.

[C]

It's quite.

[D]

It's quite sensitive, quite conservative. But what is exceptional about it is the way in which the public spaces have been created and more art has been integrated. The Picasso buildings that Picasso, sorry, murals that were in the 1958 building have been refurbished. One of the largest, his largest Murals, the fisherman. 100 tons has been taken from one building which was demolished and hung on another. And the idea of art as a means of articulating values and of public nature, of democracy, is really very powerful. It felt a great privilege to be able to see it before it's handed over to the client in a couple of weeks for it to become the center of. Of the Norwegian government.

[B]

Indeed. I mean, very briefly, there is that idea, isn't it, that when you. When you design a government area, a government building, it must be transparent, it must be for the people, it must have public accessibility. But there needs to be humility as well.

[D]

Absolutely. There is a beautiful project by the Korean artist Dun Hun, so which involves. Involves 3 to 5 centimeter size figures, thousands of them literally hold as if they are whole, they're kind of bronze and they're holding up the paving slabs to show the effect that democratic institutions are only as strong as the people that they serve and only as strong as the people that hold them up. And interestingly, this artwork Pre existed to 2011 attacks and was hidden in the back a little bit. It's been brought forward and put central and effectively it's been used as the architectural idea which has generated the July 22, the date of the attack center, which will commemorate and explain this by. It is clearly a play on this artwork which was previously hidden. It's an exceptional series of work. Thank you.

[B]

Wonderful to have you on the program. Apologies for cutting you off and enjoy Rotterdam. That was taken Tim Abrams, contributing editor to the Architectural Record in Rotterdam. We cut Tim off because we've run out of time for today's program. The warmest of thanks to all my guests and to our producers, Hassan Anderson and Monica Lillis. Our researcher was Annalise Maynard and our studio manager was Elliot Greenfield. After the headlines. There's more music on the way. The briefing's live at midday here in London. The Globalist is back at the same time tomorrow. Join me for that if you can, but for now, from me, Emma Nelson. Goodbye. Thanks. Thanks for listening.

[A]

With ubs. You have a truly global partner incorporating new technologies, innovative approaches and unexpected opportunities, leading you to insights that help answer the questions that matter. Delivered with passion, care and unmatched expertise. Because it's about rising with the dawn each day, knowing that we can do even better. That's what banking is to us. Not just work, but a craft. UBS advice is our craft.