After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the world political and economic elites will meet again starting Sunday in the Swiss town of Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF), dominated by the war in Ukraine and with a strong Latin American presence.
The meeting was held for the last time in the small ski resort Switzerland in January 2020, with former US President Donald Trump and environmental activist Greta Thunberg as protagonists, and while concern was growing about a disease that appeared in China about which little was still known.
Since then the Covid-19 pandemic has destabilized the world economy, causing serious problems in supply chains and rising inflation, among other things.
And since last February, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the crisis has worsened, particularly with rising food and energy prices.
Read Also
- Mare of Easttown’s Attic Moment Explained May 31, 2021
- Cambodia reports daily record of 730 Covid-19 cases May 2, 2021
- New Chief of National Defense for the provinces of Arauco and Bío Bío makes first visit to the area Nov 17, 2022
- War in Ukraine: Uncertainties around a shooting in Poland and recession in Russia Nov 17, 2022
- Covid-19 in China: Country records new record high number of cases Nov 24, 2022
- World Cup 2022: From caravans to luxury hotels, the double life of supporters in Doha Nov 24, 2022
- Kim Jong Un’s Physical Change Sparks Rumors About His Health Jun 16, 2021
The pandemic prevented ; He decided that the forum would take place in January of this year, as usual, and this time it will be held, without snow, between May 22 and 26 under the motto “History at a turning point: Government policies and business strategies.”
“Russia’s aggression (…) will appear in the history books as the collapse of the order born after World War II and the Cold War”, economist Klaus Schwab, the Forum’s founder, told the press this week, assuring that Davos would do everything possible to support Ukraine and its reconstruction.
In addition to an intervention by Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky on Monday by videoconference, he is The presence in Switzerland of several Ukrainian politicians was announced.
In parallel, the WEF suspended the all his relations with Russia , which for years had been very present at the event. Excluding the Russians was “the right decision,” according to WEF President Borge Brende.
Symbolically, to replace the so-called Russia House (Russia House), a crowded place enabled every year in Davos that concentrated all the activity in the country, it is year there will be a Russia War Crimes House, an initiative of the Ukrainian government and a patron of the country.
Discreet diplomacy
Along with the Ukrainian issue, the forum, which this time brings together some 2,500 political, economic, business and civil society leaders, will address the issue of Ukraine. also issues such as climate change, gender inequality or the emergence of the metaverse.
Latin America will be involved. very present, with announced interventions by the presidents of Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic and specific sessions on the region.
The new Peruvian president, the leftist Pedro Castillo, who needed A congressional approval to travel to Switzerland, he plans to address issues such as the post-pandemic economic recovery or the sustainable development of the Amazon.
Along with its official agenda, Davos is known as a diplomatic meeting point. “The discreet diplomacy that (…) the forum allows is one of the things that is “It’s really at the heart of the forum, and what Klaus Schwab considers his greatest achievement,” Adrienne Sorbom, professor of sociology at Stockholm University and co-author of a book on the WEF, told AFP.
Despite recurring criticism of its usefulness and opulence in a world full of inequalities, the Davos forum continues to attract top political and business leaders
“In this Davos, in this festival of wealth, I think we will see how unequal our world has become,” said Nabil Ahmed, of the oenegé Oxfam, which campaigns for higher taxes on the wealthy and often attends the forum.