The year 2023 was marked not only by wars that generated an economic impact worldwide, but by a series of events that opened the way to artificial intelligence and with it a new way of conceiving the business world and big business, without passing up natural events that reopened the debate on global warming and the environmental commitments agreed upon by the great powers.
We began the journey with the reopening of China’s borders and the end of restriction policies due to Covid-19, a fact that marked the end of two years of uncertainty, deaths, laboratory trials for vaccines and a significant setback in world economy, However, it was not until May 5 that the World Health Organization declared the end of the pandemic, however another series of deaths, this time, due to wars, began to write another story.
It was in the last quarter of the year that a war broke out in the Middle East that captured the headlines and attention of world leaders, the church and society in general. The Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7 and subsequent war left in their wake heartbreaking scenes of civilians, children and entire families trying to flee the conflict.
Chaos took over the world and hundreds of foreigners residing in Israel They had to be repatriated to their countries of origin, Colombians were no exception and through humanitarian flights they returned to national territory, fleeing the war.
But Colombia also made headlines due to President Gustavo Petro’s tweets that seemed to favor Hamas, which triggered a break in relations with Israel, the latter announcing the end of security exports to the country.
In other geopolitical events it had a great impact, towards the month of February, the discovery of what was called a “spy balloon” floating over the United States and Canada, increasing tension between China and the United Stateswhich was only possible to appease in the month of November with the historic visit of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to the president of the United States, Joe Biden.
At the beginning of the year, Russia also took its position, amid the rejection of the United States for the invasion and declared war on Ukraine. While The US sent military support to Ukraine, in contrast, Russia suspended its participation in New START, a nuclear arms reduction treaty that would have allowed the United States and NATO to inspect the country’s nuclear facilities.In April, Finland became an official member of NATO. being the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the starting point for this historic decision. Now, Finland, which shares a border with Russia to the east, has the support of NATO members in case it is attacked.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (L) shakes hands with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg looks on. Photo: Reuters.
The month of June brought an internal confrontation in Russia, presented between Wagner Group and the Russian Army. The leader of the mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin died, months later, in a plane crash. In August, the addition of six new members was also announced by the BRICS bloc: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, along with Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina, major oil producers.
Looking ahead to 2024, both the war between Israel and Hamas and the rebel attacks in the Red Sea continue to be two of the events that frame global tensions.
Finally, in the last days of this year, The migration crisis worsened, this time on behalf of thousands of migrants ‘exodus from poverty’, who move in masses to Mexico and then reach the United States.At the technology level, while artificial intelligence was in the global conversation, representing a favorable year for the interests of OpenAI, in a fact without apparent precedents, Sam Altman was fired as CEO of that company and two days later he was reinstated.
