The Olympics represent the kind of global collaboration that's needed to overcome the global economic slowdown, says the CEO of Coca-Cola, one of the major sponsors of the London Olympics 2012.

"Big societal issues in the world are not going to be solved by only government, business or civil society," Muhtar Kent says in an excellent Fox Business News interview this week from London. "It's going to come from this golden triangle of increased collaboration between government, business and civil society, and we're proving that at these Olympic Games."

And the biggest issue of the day is the global economic slowdown, the major topic of Kent's interview with Liz Claman. Kent first addressed the impact of the drought on prices of  commodities in his industry, corn syrup, and then reviewed the global economy.

I think today, we have to all realize that this is a crisis that is not going to go away quickly. Unemployment is not going to come down quickly. We have to get use to living and operating in a world of volatility, uncertainty -- that's the norm. And the future belongs to those who can continue to crack the calculus for growth in the world of uncertainty.

Europe is going to continue to struggle, he said, but he also cautioned against viewing the European economy as a single entity, noting that Germany, Poland and parts of Scandinavia are doing relatively well. Elsewhere, conditions are brighter: Africa is growing, parts of Latin America and Asia are doing well, and China -- despite some difficulties -- is still growing. And ...

The United States, I think, is one where I still believe is going to come out of this crisis first because of strong demographics, strong ethic and culture for entrepreneurial spirit.

Claman closes by noting Kent got his first job at Coke by answering a classified ad in 1978 and asking him about the American Dream. "I absolutely have tremendous belief in the American dream," Kent responded. "I do believe that America s going to come out of this crisis first. I would never bet against America."

Fox Business has been doing a nice job with interviews with Olympic sponsors, including another BRT-member CEO, Cisco's John Chambers, who discussed the technology behind the games and the global economy. Just amazing ... Four times the complexity of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Chambers' comments on Canada's business climate are also fascinating: Best place in the world to do business, he says.