September 27, 2024 • 15 mins
Join us for a succinct conversation with Finland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen, as she shares her deep views on the Pact for the Future straight from the United Nations General Assembly Week. Minister Valtonen emphasizes the pressing need for equitable funding access for developing countries and the critical role of public-private partnerships and transparent tax systems in achieving economic stability in the Global South. We also delve into the repercussions of sanctions on Russia, examining their complex influence on Russia's inflation and interest rates.
Speakers:
J. Alex Tarquinio (host). @alextarquinio of @delegateslounge on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Elina Valtonen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland (guest). @elinavaltonen of @Ulkoministerio on X, formerly known as Twitter.
References:
Alex, our podcast host, wrote the United Nations General Assembly curtain raiser for Foreign Policy, and in it, she explains the Pact for the Future. Here's a gift link for nonsubscribers.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/09/23/unga-summit-united-nations-dysfunction-guterres-russia/
The Pact for the Future is explained on this site about the Summit of the Future.
https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future/pact-for-the-future
We spoke about the high interest rates in Russia and Central Bank of Russia Chief Elvira Nabiullina.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/12/11/russia-central-bank-chief-ukraine-war-ruble-value/
Credits:
Music: Adobe Stock
Photos: Adobe Stock/valeriyap - stock.adobe.com. Statues holding spherical lamps at Helsinki Central railway station in the Kluuvi part of central Helsinki. Night view in winter. Headshot (in some layouts): Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
J. Alex Tarquinio (00:08):
Welcome to the Delegates Lounge.
Pull up a chair.
I'm Alex Tarquinio, ajournalist based at the United
Nations here in New York Cityand your emcee for this podcast
featuring some of the mostinfluential minds in the world
today.
Settle in for some rivetingtete-a-tete, available wherever
you listen to podcasts.
Welcome back to the third dayof our continuing coverage of
(00:41):
the United Nations High LevelWeek here at the UN headquarters
in New York.
At the Delegates' Lounge, we'reinterviewing foreign ministers
and senior diplomats during theGeneral Assembly Week, the focal
point of global diplomacy,every September.
Today, we're delighted to shareour exclusive interview with
the Minister of Foreign Affairsof the Republic of Finland, lina
(01:01):
Valtonen.
She became the Nordic nation'sforeign minister in June of last
year.
Minister Valtonen has abackground in high finance,
having worked for a decade ininvestment banking at the Royal
Bank of Scotland.
As it happens, I spent a goodpart of my career as a financial
journalist interviewinginvestment bankers, so naturally
our conversation delved intothe persistent calls, especially
(01:24):
by the Global South, to reformthe global financial structure.
That was a big part of the pactfor the future, a grand policy
document approved by consensusin the General Assembly this
week.
We also spoke about theeconomic bite of sanctions in
Russia, the challenges oftackling the growing number of
conflicts around the world andthe historical importance of
(01:45):
Finland joining NATO.
Stick around until the end tolearn about the culinary
delights in Finland's longsummer days.
Here's our conversation.
Thank you, minister, for makingtime for us in the midst of
(02:05):
UNGA.
It's a very busy week.
Thanks for having me.
I wanted to jump right in onthe Pact for the Future, which
was passed by consensus onSunday.
There are some provisions inthere which, of course, the
Global South is very interestedin financial reform and, as you
do have a background in highfinance, I wanted to ask your
opinion of this.
It's obviously easier said thandone, but what do you think of
the provisions in the pact aboutreforming the global financial
(02:27):
structure?
Elina Valtonen (02:27):
I think the initiative of reforming the
financial structure is very goodand welcome.
I think we should be combiningtwo things for the future First
of all, access to funding, whichneeds to be there for all sorts
of businesses, even the smallerones, in developing countries,
which is not always the case.
(02:48):
And in those cases where itunfortunately does not happen
through, say, regulated banks orfinancial institutions, then it
can be that people are misledor they are even misused, and
unfortunately this not onlyapplies to smaller enterprises
that people are misled or theyare even misused, and
(03:09):
unfortunately this not onlyapplies to smaller enterprises,
but even to governments who areforced to borrow at conditions
which are not acceptable from asort of certainly not the
Western point of view, butneither from a, say, un Charter
point of view, because in somecases those governments even
lose their sovereignty or partsof it.
So that will be that.
So there needs to be mutualrespect for the access, but also
(03:32):
for the UN Charter at the sametime, and those values that we
hold dear globally.
And at the same time, we ofcourse need to make room for
market-based solutions so thatwe really do have the volume
which is needed to providingfunding to actors in the
(03:55):
developing South in sufficientamounts, because there's no way
that we would have enoughcapital if it was only
state-sponsored.
So we need to find solutionswhich combine both private and
public capital.
And especially when making useof private capital, it could be
(04:18):
so that, say, un institutions orgovernments willing to do so
take a little bit of the riskaway, which incentivizes private
financial institutions to lendunder better conditions to those
in need.
J. Alex Tarquinio (04:37):
And you do think the commitments made in
the pact for the future willhelp lead to more of these
public-private partnerships andinvest in the global south.
Elina Valtonen (04:46):
Yes, there are some very good ideas in this
regard, and also what is also,of course, very important if we
talk about the government level,is that we also assist those
countries to set up afunctioning tax collection
system and independent of thelevel of the tax.
(05:08):
But the point is that thesystem needs to be transparent,
it needs to benon-discriminatory to everybody
and, of course, the more thegovernment is able to collect
funds, the better also thecredit worthiness, which also
helps in accessing capital.
J. Alex Tarquinio (05:26):
Well, I've heard also that you know, many
Global South countries actuallyare quite innovative on finance
and in some cases that's bynecessity.
People use their mobile phones,for example, to exchange money
because maybe they don't have afull banking system or they live
in a remote area.
So are there things we canlearn, perhaps, working with the
Global South?
Elina Valtonen (05:43):
There's definitely a lot we can learn,
and especially theinnovativeness and the
flexibility to you know adjustin sometimes also difficult
conditions.
I think that's a remarkabletrait in human beings.
J. Alex Tarquinio (05:58):
Yeah.
Now there's another financialaspect, which is, of course,
sanctions, and I wanted to askyour opinion, as someone with a
financial background, about thesanctions, particularly on
Russia since the full-scaleinvasion of Ukraine, how they're
working.
There's some concern.
They are finding, of course,workarounds, sort of dual-use
products, but on the other hand,there's also the dramatic
(06:19):
increase in interest rates bythe Russian central bank.
A lot of that is, of course, tosuppress inflation, very high
inflation, but the Russiancentral banker, elvira Dabulina,
sort of implied that sanctionsmight be having an impact.
Do you believe sanctions arehaving an impact both on Russian
inflation and the high interestrates there?
Elina Valtonen (06:38):
Absolutely do.
The sanctions have an impact,and nobody ever believed that
they are 100% bulletproof.
That's never been the case inglobal history and neither is it
now.
And of course, it is the dutyof us, the sanctioning countries
, also to find ways to fill theloopholes, and that's constant
work we are occupied with.
(06:58):
But at the same time, even ifand when which is completely the
truth Russia has been able tocircumvent some of the sanctions
, even to the extent that we arenot so happy with it, some of
the sanctions, even to theextent that we are not so happy
with it.
They still have to pay apremium for that, and we do see
that also reflecting in the veryhigh rate of inflation, because
(07:20):
, of course, their imports justcost more these days, even if
they were able to access thoseproducts and services which they
otherwise wouldn't be if allcountries around the world were
adhering to the sanctions.
So it just comes at a cost.
So, of course, also in thisregard to the sanctions, well,
actually the sanctions?
J. Alex Tarquinio (07:38):
they have a dual purpose at least.
One is, of course, to try andprevent them from obtaining
materials that would be usefulin their war against Ukraine,
and the other is to create someeconomic pain, really to make it
difficult or the war lesspopular among Russians.
So do you think it's succeedingin that second aim?
Elina Valtonen (07:59):
Well, in the second aim, it's difficult to
tell.
Of course we don't have anyreliable data on how the Russian
population truly thinks, and ofcourse they have been living
with their dictator for quitesome time and, of course, in a
very limited media space, Iwould say.
So that's one thing, but Ithink the main purpose is, of
(08:20):
course, to economically drainthe future, which would allow
for a better future for theRussian people, because of
course they also, like everybodyelse, deserve freedom and
democracy.
And number two is that thisagain, the hike in the central
bank rate, which is now at 19%it also reflects that there's a
(08:43):
massive capital flight going on,so there's very little belief
in the long-term future of theRussian economy, also in this
regard.
J. Alex Tarquinio (08:52):
So you believe, it's not only extremely
high interest rates.
They're not only to suppressthe inflation, but also to make
the ruble more appealing toforeign investors.
Elina Valtonen (09:02):
There are many phenomena at play here.
J. Alex Tarquinio (09:04):
Okay, now we're at the General Assembly
this week in New York, but it'simpossible to overlook the
historical importance of Finlandjoining NATO.
That has massively increasedNATO's land border with Russia,
and in wintertime the Gulf ofFinland freezes over as well, so
that actually increases theborder even more, practically
speaking.
So what impact will that haveon the security situation in the
(09:26):
Arctic region?
Elina Valtonen (09:28):
in the Arctic region.
Well, we joined NATO togetherwith Sweden in order to enhance
our own security, and obviouslynot as a threat towards anybody,
certainly not against Russia.
I think together as an alliance, we are so much stronger, Also
when it comes to Baltic Seasecurity and also the Arctic,
(09:51):
which becomes ever more soimportant Now.
Unfortunately, with the climatewarming in that region, the ice
keeps melting and therefore theArctic Sea becomes more and
more part of the Atlantic, Withvery significant geopolitical
(10:13):
meaning as well.
But both Finland and Swedenbring in very significant
capabilities.
Finland has one of the strongestarmies in Europe and not just
relatively speaking, we are asmall nation, but also in
absolute numbers and plus, ofcourse, we are technologically
sophisticated.
So we bring in a lot ofexpertise, not only in the
(10:36):
traditional military space, butalso in countering hybrid
threats.
And in quite many cases and I'mhappy to see our cooperation
and trade with the United Statesincrease massively now with
also the technologicalpartnership is that in order to
stay competitive technologically, first of all, we have to
(10:57):
cooperate as much as possiblewithin the alliance and really
abolish all trade barriers.
Second thing, we have to excelin the civilian use of
technology, because the militaryalways is only a directive of
how high class the civilianapplications are.
(11:18):
So I think we're doing a greatjob there.
J. Alex Tarquinio (11:21):
Now we're at the United Nations this week.
The conflicts of Ukraine andthe Middle East have really been
competing for attention overthe last year.
Obviously, the Security Councilreally has their hands tied in
Ukraine.
With the Russian veto, theMiddle East is highly complex.
What, if anything, do you thinkthat the UN can do, and what
does Finland support the UNdoing, to try to resolve these
(11:42):
conflicts?
Elina Valtonen (11:43):
You know, many people say that the UN or the
international rules-based orderare somewhat obsolete these days
because there are so manycountries violating well, most
notably Russia those principles.
But I would claim the exactopposite is true, because if we
didn't have these globallyagreed principles, we wouldn't
(12:08):
know who is really violatingsomething.
We would just, regionally,somehow feel that this is wrong,
but we wouldn't have any toolsto counteract.
And perhaps we don't have themost efficient tools now either,
but at least we have means ofsaying this is wrong and this is
right.
And at some point and I dobelieve, there will be a time
(12:28):
when perpetrators to theseprinciples are taken to justice
and more and more people, by theday even, are able to live
their lives according to theseprinciples, in freedom and
according to the human rights.
J. Alex Tarquinio (12:44):
Okay, well, finally, we're ending all of our
interviews with ministers anddiplomats this week with a fun
question about the cuisine fromyour country.
If you could share one of thefavorite items that you think
represents the cuisine from yourcountry that you'd like to
share with people from variouscultures of the United Nations?
Elina Valtonen (13:03):
Well, I think at this stage I would have to say
that my favorite dish is thecarrot pie which my daughter
bakes.
Not sure whether that's sofantastically traditionally
Finnish, but at least she makesher Finnish version of it.
But very Finnish is freshberries, say strawberries and
(13:24):
blueberries.
Because of the very, very longdays in the summer.
Well, we have a short summer incomparison.
But we have almost 20 hours ofsunlight during the day.
It makes those berries,especially the wild ones, very,
very tasty.
(13:44):
When I give those berries to myforeign friends they're like
well, either this tastes likechildhood or do you prepare them
somewhere?
You don't have to prepare them,well, a traditional dish from
berries is you just put theberries and pour some milk on it
and perhaps some sugar.
But typically you don't evenneed the sugar because they're
so sweet.
J. Alex Tarquinio (14:03):
Well, I know your time is very pressed, but
thank you for making time for us.
Thank you so much.
Frank Radford (14:14):
And that's it from the Delegates Lounge.
We'd like to thank our esteemedguests, who've graciously
allowed us to share theirhard-earned insights into what
really matters.
And then there's you, ourlisteners, who we hope are
sufficiently edified to clamorfor more of the same.
Do drop in for a weekly episodeon Thursday, or, from time to
time if we're on the road, forspecial events, in which case
there'll be a bonus episode.
(14:34):
Subscribe wherever you listento podcasts and, if you like
what you've heard, please take amoment to rate or review the
show, as it helps others whoshare your abiding interest in
world affairs to find their wayto the Delegates Lounge.
You can connect with us on manypopular social media platforms
or reach out to us directly atinfothedelicatesloungecom.
We're a small team so we can'trespond to every message, but we
(14:56):
will read them.
Our show this week was writtenand produced by the host and by
yours truly executive producer,frank Radford.
Until next time, keep calm andcurious.
Welcome to the Delegates Lounge.
Pull up a chair.
I'm Alex Tarquinio, ajournalist based at the United
Nations here in New York Cityand your emcee for this podcast
featuring some of the mostinfluential minds in the world
today.
Settle in for some rivetingtete-a-tete, available wherever
you listen to podcasts.
Welcome back to the third dayof our continuing coverage of
(00:41):
the United Nations High LevelWeek here at the UN headquarters
in New York.
At the Delegates' Lounge, we'reinterviewing foreign ministers
and senior diplomats during theGeneral Assembly Week, the focal
point of global diplomacy,every September.
Today, we're delighted to shareour exclusive interview with
the Minister of Foreign Affairsof the Republic of Finland, lina
(01:01):
Valtonen.
She became the Nordic nation'sforeign minister in June of last
year.
Minister Valtonen has abackground in high finance,
having worked for a decade ininvestment banking at the Royal
Bank of Scotland.
As it happens, I spent a goodpart of my career as a financial
journalist interviewinginvestment bankers, so naturally
our conversation delved intothe persistent calls, especially
(01:24):
by the Global South, to reformthe global financial structure.
That was a big part of the pactfor the future, a grand policy
document approved by consensusin the General Assembly this
week.
We also spoke about theeconomic bite of sanctions in
Russia, the challenges oftackling the growing number of
conflicts around the world andthe historical importance of
(01:45):
Finland joining NATO.
Stick around until the end tolearn about the culinary
delights in Finland's longsummer days.
Here's our conversation.
Thank you, minister, for makingtime for us in the midst of
(02:05):
UNGA.
It's a very busy week.
Thanks for having me.
I wanted to jump right in onthe Pact for the Future, which
was passed by consensus onSunday.
There are some provisions inthere which, of course, the
Global South is very interestedin financial reform and, as you
do have a background in highfinance, I wanted to ask your
opinion of this.
It's obviously easier said thandone, but what do you think of
the provisions in the pact aboutreforming the global financial
(02:27):
structure?
Elina Valtonen (02:27):
I think the initiative of reforming the
financial structure is very goodand welcome.
I think we should be combiningtwo things for the future First
of all, access to funding, whichneeds to be there for all sorts
of businesses, even the smallerones, in developing countries,
which is not always the case.
(02:48):
And in those cases where itunfortunately does not happen
through, say, regulated banks orfinancial institutions, then it
can be that people are misledor they are even misused, and
unfortunately this not onlyapplies to smaller enterprises
that people are misled or theyare even misused, and
(03:09):
unfortunately this not onlyapplies to smaller enterprises,
but even to governments who areforced to borrow at conditions
which are not acceptable from asort of certainly not the
Western point of view, butneither from a, say, un Charter
point of view, because in somecases those governments even
lose their sovereignty or partsof it.
So that will be that.
So there needs to be mutualrespect for the access, but also
(03:32):
for the UN Charter at the sametime, and those values that we
hold dear globally.
And at the same time, we ofcourse need to make room for
market-based solutions so thatwe really do have the volume
which is needed to providingfunding to actors in the
(03:55):
developing South in sufficientamounts, because there's no way
that we would have enoughcapital if it was only
state-sponsored.
So we need to find solutionswhich combine both private and
public capital.
And especially when making useof private capital, it could be
(04:18):
so that, say, un institutions orgovernments willing to do so
take a little bit of the riskaway, which incentivizes private
financial institutions to lendunder better conditions to those
in need.
J. Alex Tarquinio (04:37):
And you do think the commitments made in
the pact for the future willhelp lead to more of these
public-private partnerships andinvest in the global south.
Elina Valtonen (04:46):
Yes, there are some very good ideas in this
regard, and also what is also,of course, very important if we
talk about the government level,is that we also assist those
countries to set up afunctioning tax collection
system and independent of thelevel of the tax.
(05:08):
But the point is that thesystem needs to be transparent,
it needs to benon-discriminatory to everybody
and, of course, the more thegovernment is able to collect
funds, the better also thecredit worthiness, which also
helps in accessing capital.
J. Alex Tarquinio (05:26):
Well, I've heard also that you know, many
Global South countries actuallyare quite innovative on finance
and in some cases that's bynecessity.
People use their mobile phones,for example, to exchange money
because maybe they don't have afull banking system or they live
in a remote area.
So are there things we canlearn, perhaps, working with the
Global South?
Elina Valtonen (05:43):
There's definitely a lot we can learn,
and especially theinnovativeness and the
flexibility to you know adjustin sometimes also difficult
conditions.
I think that's a remarkabletrait in human beings.
J. Alex Tarquinio (05:58):
Yeah.
Now there's another financialaspect, which is, of course,
sanctions, and I wanted to askyour opinion, as someone with a
financial background, about thesanctions, particularly on
Russia since the full-scaleinvasion of Ukraine, how they're
working.
There's some concern.
They are finding, of course,workarounds, sort of dual-use
products, but on the other hand,there's also the dramatic
(06:19):
increase in interest rates bythe Russian central bank.
A lot of that is, of course, tosuppress inflation, very high
inflation, but the Russiancentral banker, elvira Dabulina,
sort of implied that sanctionsmight be having an impact.
Do you believe sanctions arehaving an impact both on Russian
inflation and the high interestrates there?
Elina Valtonen (06:38):
Absolutely do.
The sanctions have an impact,and nobody ever believed that
they are 100% bulletproof.
That's never been the case inglobal history and neither is it
now.
And of course, it is the dutyof us, the sanctioning countries
, also to find ways to fill theloopholes, and that's constant
work we are occupied with.
(06:58):
But at the same time, even ifand when which is completely the
truth Russia has been able tocircumvent some of the sanctions
, even to the extent that we arenot so happy with it, some of
the sanctions, even to theextent that we are not so happy
with it.
They still have to pay apremium for that, and we do see
that also reflecting in the veryhigh rate of inflation, because
(07:20):
, of course, their imports justcost more these days, even if
they were able to access thoseproducts and services which they
otherwise wouldn't be if allcountries around the world were
adhering to the sanctions.
So it just comes at a cost.
So, of course, also in thisregard to the sanctions, well,
actually the sanctions?
J. Alex Tarquinio (07:38):
they have a dual purpose at least.
One is, of course, to try andprevent them from obtaining
materials that would be usefulin their war against Ukraine,
and the other is to create someeconomic pain, really to make it
difficult or the war lesspopular among Russians.
So do you think it's succeedingin that second aim?
Elina Valtonen (07:59):
Well, in the second aim, it's difficult to
tell.
Of course we don't have anyreliable data on how the Russian
population truly thinks, and ofcourse they have been living
with their dictator for quitesome time and, of course, in a
very limited media space, Iwould say.
So that's one thing, but Ithink the main purpose is, of
(08:20):
course, to economically drainthe future, which would allow
for a better future for theRussian people, because of
course they also, like everybodyelse, deserve freedom and
democracy.
And number two is that thisagain, the hike in the central
bank rate, which is now at 19%it also reflects that there's a
(08:43):
massive capital flight going on,so there's very little belief
in the long-term future of theRussian economy, also in this
regard.
J. Alex Tarquinio (08:52):
So you believe, it's not only extremely
high interest rates.
They're not only to suppressthe inflation, but also to make
the ruble more appealing toforeign investors.
Elina Valtonen (09:02):
There are many phenomena at play here.
J. Alex Tarquinio (09:04):
Okay, now we're at the General Assembly
this week in New York, but it'simpossible to overlook the
historical importance of Finlandjoining NATO.
That has massively increasedNATO's land border with Russia,
and in wintertime the Gulf ofFinland freezes over as well, so
that actually increases theborder even more, practically
speaking.
So what impact will that haveon the security situation in the
(09:26):
Arctic region?
Elina Valtonen (09:28):
in the Arctic region.
Well, we joined NATO togetherwith Sweden in order to enhance
our own security, and obviouslynot as a threat towards anybody,
certainly not against Russia.
I think together as an alliance, we are so much stronger, Also
when it comes to Baltic Seasecurity and also the Arctic,
(09:51):
which becomes ever more soimportant Now.
Unfortunately, with the climatewarming in that region, the ice
keeps melting and therefore theArctic Sea becomes more and
more part of the Atlantic, Withvery significant geopolitical
(10:13):
meaning as well.
But both Finland and Swedenbring in very significant
capabilities.
Finland has one of the strongestarmies in Europe and not just
relatively speaking, we are asmall nation, but also in
absolute numbers and plus, ofcourse, we are technologically
sophisticated.
So we bring in a lot ofexpertise, not only in the
(10:36):
traditional military space, butalso in countering hybrid
threats.
And in quite many cases and I'mhappy to see our cooperation
and trade with the United Statesincrease massively now with
also the technologicalpartnership is that in order to
stay competitive technologically, first of all, we have to
(10:57):
cooperate as much as possiblewithin the alliance and really
abolish all trade barriers.
Second thing, we have to excelin the civilian use of
technology, because the militaryalways is only a directive of
how high class the civilianapplications are.
(11:18):
So I think we're doing a greatjob there.
J. Alex Tarquinio (11:21):
Now we're at the United Nations this week.
The conflicts of Ukraine andthe Middle East have really been
competing for attention overthe last year.
Obviously, the Security Councilreally has their hands tied in
Ukraine.
With the Russian veto, theMiddle East is highly complex.
What, if anything, do you thinkthat the UN can do, and what
does Finland support the UNdoing, to try to resolve these
(11:42):
conflicts?
Elina Valtonen (11:43):
You know, many people say that the UN or the
international rules-based orderare somewhat obsolete these days
because there are so manycountries violating well, most
notably Russia those principles.
But I would claim the exactopposite is true, because if we
didn't have these globallyagreed principles, we wouldn't
(12:08):
know who is really violatingsomething.
We would just, regionally,somehow feel that this is wrong,
but we wouldn't have any toolsto counteract.
And perhaps we don't have themost efficient tools now either,
but at least we have means ofsaying this is wrong and this is
right.
And at some point and I dobelieve, there will be a time
(12:28):
when perpetrators to theseprinciples are taken to justice
and more and more people, by theday even, are able to live
their lives according to theseprinciples, in freedom and
according to the human rights.
J. Alex Tarquinio (12:44):
Okay, well, finally, we're ending all of our
interviews with ministers anddiplomats this week with a fun
question about the cuisine fromyour country.
If you could share one of thefavorite items that you think
represents the cuisine from yourcountry that you'd like to
share with people from variouscultures of the United Nations?
Elina Valtonen (13:03):
Well, I think at this stage I would have to say
that my favorite dish is thecarrot pie which my daughter
bakes.
Not sure whether that's sofantastically traditionally
Finnish, but at least she makesher Finnish version of it.
But very Finnish is freshberries, say strawberries and
(13:24):
blueberries.
Because of the very, very longdays in the summer.
Well, we have a short summer incomparison.
But we have almost 20 hours ofsunlight during the day.
It makes those berries,especially the wild ones, very,
very tasty.
(13:44):
When I give those berries to myforeign friends they're like
well, either this tastes likechildhood or do you prepare them
somewhere?
You don't have to prepare them,well, a traditional dish from
berries is you just put theberries and pour some milk on it
and perhaps some sugar.
But typically you don't evenneed the sugar because they're
so sweet.
J. Alex Tarquinio (14:03):
Well, I know your time is very pressed, but
thank you for making time for us.
Thank you so much.
Frank Radford (14:14):
And that's it from the Delegates Lounge.
We'd like to thank our esteemedguests, who've graciously
allowed us to share theirhard-earned insights into what
really matters.
And then there's you, ourlisteners, who we hope are
sufficiently edified to clamorfor more of the same.
Do drop in for a weekly episodeon Thursday, or, from time to
time if we're on the road, forspecial events, in which case
there'll be a bonus episode.
(14:34):
Subscribe wherever you listento podcasts and, if you like
what you've heard, please take amoment to rate or review the
show, as it helps others whoshare your abiding interest in
world affairs to find their wayto the Delegates Lounge.
You can connect with us on manypopular social media platforms
or reach out to us directly atinfothedelicatesloungecom.
We're a small team so we can'trespond to every message, but we
(14:56):
will read them.
Our show this week was writtenand produced by the host and by
yours truly executive producer,frank Radford.
Until next time, keep calm andcurious.
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