The Institute managed to bring the Australian think tank to Portugal Institute for Economics and Peace to hold the first public presentation of the Global Peace Index in the country.

On June 21st, the most influential world report on Peace and Security was discussed by IPDAL with deputies to the Assembly of the Republic, ambassadors, representatives of international organizations, businesspeople, academics and members of the national and international Armed and Security Forces.

The economic cost of violence, especially in a scenario of recovery from the pandemic and confinements, was one of the central themes of the initiative. Changes in the international order and today’s geopolitical reconfiguration were also updated, as well as the militarization of States and regions, given that the leading countries in the ranking are among the States that invest the least in military activities.

Russia’s war in Ukraine was another topic discussed, with the focus on the increase in military spending by NATO countries and the economic sanctions imposed on Russia contributing to the increase in energy and food prices, which is one of the problems that more challenges it could pose to world peace in the future.

Serge Stroobants, director of Institute for Economics and Peace for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, led the presentation and Filipe Domingues, Secretary General of IPDAL, highlighted that it is the Institute’s obligation to carry out these public diplomacy and strategic reflection actions with decision-makers from different areas and reinforced IPDAL’s commitment in continuing to lead discussions in Portugal on the main international dynamics.

In the Global Peace Index 2022, Portugal appears as the sixth most peaceful country in the international system, behind Iceland, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark and Austria. The best ranked Latin American countries are Costa Rica, Uruguay and Chile, respectively 38th, 46th and 55th in the ranking. ranking .