2800 WEF participants to discuss wars and crises from Monday
Published: Monday, Jan 15th 2024, 04:50
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The World Economic Forum (WEF) begins on Monday evening in Davos GR, before being officially opened on Tuesday by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Amherd. Around 2800 participants are expected during the week-long conference, including dozens of heads of state and government.
The focus is on the world's wars and crises. On the Swiss side, it is bilateral relations with the EU. The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, which has been going on for almost two years, has already been the focus of previous conferences - now the war between Israel and the radical Islamic group Hamas and concerns about an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East have been added to the list.
The most important guest is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. He plans to travel to Davos in person for a speech on Tuesday. Once again, no one from the aggressor Russia is officially present. Instead, Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang will be attending. He already traveled to Switzerland on Sunday. China is considered an ally of Russia, and the West hopes to be able to influence Moscow via Beijing.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who is a permanent mediator in the escalating Middle East conflict, is also traveling to Davos. Also important are the planned appearance of Israeli President Isaac Herzog and the participation of ministers from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which are considered mediators in the conflict.
Create trust
The forum in the mountains is taking place "against the most complicated geopolitical and geo-economic backdrop in decades", said WEF President Børge Brende ahead of the meeting, which is being held under the motto "Rebuilding Trust". In addition to the wars, the climate crisis, the rising cost of living and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) will also be topics of discussion.
The central bankers - including Christine Lagarde from the European Central Bank and Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan - and the 1,600 business leaders at the WEF are confronted with a difficult global economic situation: Mediocre growth, high interest rates, political risks, after-effects of the corona pandemic and growing debt.
US tech companies are also well represented: speakers include Marc Benioff, CEO of enterprise software specialist Salesforce, Microsoft CEO Satay Nadella and Alex Karp from data analysis company Palantir. Billionaire Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates will also be a guest.
Bilaterals at the center
Dozens of bilateral meetings are planned on the Swiss side. For the federal authorities, the WEF is clearly intended to anchor the resumption of bilateral negotiations with the EU. Defense Minister and President Amherd will emphasize this approach in her bilateral talks in Davos. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will meet the Vice President of the European Commission responsible for the Swiss dossier, Maros Sefcovic.
Switzerland's reconnection with the European research program will also be discussed, in particular by Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, who in turn will meet the EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research and Education, Iliana Ivanova. The WEF will also provide the new Minister of Justice Beat Jans with an opportunity for initial meetings.
At the WEF kick-off on Monday evening, outstanding artists will receive a Crystal Award for their services to society. This year's recipients are Hollywood star and Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh ("Everything Everywhere All at Once") from Malaysia, US musician Nile Rodgers and Burkinabe-German architect Diébédo Francis Kéré.
©Keystone/SDA
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