This is exchanges of Goldman Sachs where people from our firm share their insights on developments

currently shaping markets, industries, and the global economy.

I'm Jake Seeward, Global Head of Corporate Communications here at the firm.

Today we're very fortunate to be joined by Jose Manuel Barroso, who is the chairman of Goldman Sachs International.

Jose Manuel also had an extraordinary career in politics as foreign minister of Portugal, then prime minister of Portugal,

and president of the

European Commission. José Manuel, it's great to have you with us today. It's my

pleasure. You've now spent about a year here at the firm and it's been a very

interesting year. we've seen

dramatic elections in Europe and the United States a lot of posturing around

nuclear weapons natural disasters terror attacks and throughout at all steadily rising asset prices.

When you try to find the narrative arc and consistency and all of that, where do you start?

The common element tonight, all those elements that you have presented is globalization.

The world is going through a very complex dynamic process of globalization.

There is at the same time flux and friction. The flux of increased

trade, investment, international exchanges at all levels including people, movements of people but also travel, cultural exchanges,

and at the same time there is resistance, resistance that can sometimes take the form of terrorism, people who don't like open societies or

open economies, or nationalism or populism, or resistance also to the development of

science itself. So we are living extremely exciting but sometimes

challenging and difficult times. I believe also globally markets are looking

more to the trends than to the simple facts of day-to-day

because if you look at some of the worries they are very serious but if you look

...