This year, the meeting organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the ski resort of the Swiss Alps “is held in the most complex geopolitical and geo-economic context for decades”, underlined in this respect the president of the WEF. , Borge Brende, during a briefing held this week for journalists.
Indeed, the Covid-19 pandemic, trade disputes between China and the United States, and the war in Ukraine have contributed in recent years to multiplying geopolitical fault lines and fueling more protectionist policies. “One of the main causes of this fragmentation is a lack of cooperation”, and it results in “short-term and selfish policies”, regretted the founder of the WEF, Klaus Schwab.
To the point even for some to wonder about the future of globalization, for half a century at the heart of the philosophy defended in Davos.
Moreover, nearly a year after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the conflict and its effects on global energy and defense policies will occupy a large part of the debates in Davos.
If the Russians are absent for the second consecutive year, a Ukrainian delegation is expected in Switzerland, and President Volodymyr Zelensky has planned to intervene remotely.
The opportunity for them to address hundreds of political figures such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres or NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg, some 600 business leaders , many media, and representatives of civil society: NGOs, researchers, and even stars like actor Idris Elba or soprano Renee Fleming.
Another key subject: the climate. Organizers hope the talks will help prepare for the next round of global talks at COP28, to be held later this year in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates.
Activists meanwhile plan to use the meeting to remind wealthy countries and energy groups of the need to fund developing countries’ energy transitions and pay for the damages from the natural disasters that accompany climate change.
As every year, however, the most important activity in Davos takes place behind the scenes, business leaders, investors and politicians taking advantage of being gathered in the same place to discuss on the sidelines of the official conference.