For five decades, the Davos Forum has emerged as the most important international platform in which political leaders, those responsible for the economy, the directors of the most powerful companies in the world and more and more representatives of civil society coincide. , invited to speak for ordinary citizens.
This meeting will be attended by 2,500 participants, including fifty heads of state and government, even more than those who attended to mark its fiftieth anniversary. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will deliver the opening speech, announced the president of the World Economic Forum (known as WEF, for its acronym in English), Borge Brende.
Ukraine is the center of attention
Obviously, Zelensky will not leave Ukraine and will address the distinguished audience in Davos by teleconference, but will send a large official delegation led by his Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba.
The unique concentration of personalities attending the Forum will offer Ukrainian representatives a great opportunity to advocate their cause and raise the discussion on the reconstruction of their country, where it is estimated that the cost of the destroyed infrastructure alone exceeds 4,000 million euros. .
“In Davos we will do everything we can for Ukraine and to support its recovery,” WEF Founder and Executive Director Klaus Schwab told a news conference presenting the meeting program.
Europe will be represented by the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, and of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, as well as by the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, whose organization is seen as a potential threat by Russia, will also travel to Davos.
The interest aroused by the Davos meeting is also evident in the record number of foreign ministers who will attend, more than thirty, in addition to more than 50 economy ministers.
Beyond the war in Ukraine, participants will be invited to reflect on the lessons left by the pandemic and to propose ideas on how to develop a global and national capacity for resilience in the face of new crises that no one doubts will arise.
One of these crises is that of the environment and Schwab said that Davos “must also be a climate summit”, since many protagonists in this field will be present at the meeting, including twenty ministers from the sector.
“We need a coalition of leaders who are committed to climate solutions. The world is eager to see solutions,” he said.
The economy will also retain much of the attention at Davos in the face of rising inflation, Ukraine’s grain supplies being disrupted by Russia’s blockade of its Black Sea shipments, investor mistrust and the social fallout from the pandemic. .
“Our global economy is out of balance. There is too much inflation, too much inequality. These issues, like the food crisis, need to be addressed at Davos because they require immediate attention,” Schwab said.
To talk about it, the heads of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will also be in that town in Switzerland, as well as several directors of central banks.
