Davos meets at troubled tipping point 

AMOST three years since the start of the pandemic, the World Economic Forum (WEF) holds next week (Jan 16 to 20) its first agenda-setting winter Davos meeting since January 2020, albeit in the most challenging context for years.

Under the theme of cooperation in a fragmented world, the 2023 annual WEF meeting will bring together more than 2,700 leaders from government, business and civil society, at a pivotal time for the world. More than 50 heads of state and government will show up next to 56 finance ministers, 19 central bank governors, 30 trade ministers and 35 foreign ministers. Heads of the United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization will be among 39 leaders of international agencies.

Key political leaders in attendance include: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz; European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol; South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will join by video conference. There will also be the highest ever business participation at Davos, with over 1,500 leaders registered across 700 organisations.