The World Economic Forum kicked off Monday in Davos and will last till January 20. Leaders from various governments, companies and civil society come together aiming to confront the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the possibility of a global recession.
The conference has been held annually since the seventies in Switzerland as an opportunity for the global business community to discuss the current economic challenges.
In this session, the forum will look into a number of significant issues such as the energy crisis, the risks of the global economy drifting into a wave of economic recession due to raising interest rates globally and its impact on the economies of emerging countries, in addition to a rise in debt rates, and the crises resulted from the Corona epidemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war in supply chains.
The session is held under the slogan “Cooperation in a Fragmented World,” and the forum’s official website said: “We will look at how to address the many and interrelated challenges the world faces and come up with solutions through cooperation between the public and private sectors.”
The conference is expected to attract 2,700 participants, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yul and US climate envoy John Kerry.
The US Bloomberg Agency also revealed that about 116 billionaires from around the world were invited and confirmed their attendance at the conference. At the same time, a plethora of billionaires from Russia and China will be absent from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, due to tensions between Russia and the West as a consequence of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The global economic challenges
The first meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos since 2020 comes at a time when economic heavyweights and companies are tending to change their convictions about free market principles in conjunction with global supply chain disruptions, according to the CNN report.
A number of economic analysts stated that the global economy will never abandon globalization. Rana Forouhar, an economic analyst for CNN, said: “The economic pendulum changes throughout history…every time the pendulum shifts too far, which is what It’s clearly happening now, it’s starting to back off a little bit.”
“Only personal interaction creates the necessary level of trust, which we are in dire need for our fractured world,” said World Economic Forum President Klaus Schwab, the founder of the event, at a press conference last week, noting that the theme of this year is “Cooperation in a Fragmented World.”
Egypt’s agenda in the forum
Hala Al-Saeed, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, will attend the 53rd edition of the World Economic Forum, with the participation of 52 heads of state and government and a number of finance ministers and CEOs.
The minister’s agenda during the forum includes participation in a session on enabling investment transition, in addition to participation in the round table held under the title of planning for the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP). Moreover, she will take part in a stakeholder dialogue entitled Between Liquidity and Fragility: Reform in the Middle East The Middle East, as well as engaging in a dialogue on climate change in the Middle East, and a strategic session on the future of economic growth.
During her stay in Davos, the minister’s agenda, also includes her meeting with a number of ministers of other countries, the most prominent of which is the encounter with the Saudi Minister of Economy, in addition to her meeting with the Minister of State in the German Federal Chancellery, and the Minister of Planning and Finance of Zambia.
The minister is planning to hold a number of bilateral discussions with CEOs of companies and representatives of international institutions, including a meeting with the CEO of AstraZeneca, and the head of Google for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It is also scheduled to hold talks with Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, CEO of the Adani Group, and a meeting with the Vice President of BlackRock, in addition to a meeting with Achim Steiner, Director of the United Nations Development Program.
Among the prominent figures that Saeed will hold dialogues with are Badina Powell, Managing Director and Partner at Golden Man Sachs Bank, as well as a meeting with the CEO of Envision Group, as well as the CEO of Coursera, the CEOs of Honeywell, and HSBC Europe, and Mr. Amit Lohia, Vice President, Indurama Foundation.
Furthermore, Saeed will take part in the conference activities at the AstraZeneca round table, in addition to her participation in the Majid Al-Futtaim Group event entitled Barometer of Economic Integration for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
