Misk returns to WEF with Youth Majlis, placing young people at the heart of the global conversation

Davos: With the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum returning to the familiar snow-capped mountains of Davos, many are wondering what delegations from the Arab world are going to bring to the mix.

“I think, in short, it is their time to shine,” Maroun Kairouz, WEF’s Middle East and North Africa region head, told Arab News.

“(It) is the culmination of years of effort and commitment to reforms that we have seen in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman.

“Now they are reaping the fruits of the seeds that were sown 20 years ago for five, six, and some countries, and it puts them in that position.”

This year’s summit follows the theme of “cooperation in a fragmented world” – an appropriate one given the many overlapping crises now plaguing the world.

The war between Russia and Ukraine is approaching its first anniversary and shows no signs of abating, Contribution

Keeping in mind the ongoing inflationary crisis, which has put immense pressure on families across the world.

Meanwhile, intensifying geopolitical and geoeconomic competition between world powers, especially China and the US, is creating more uncertainty and reshaping the global power balance.

With a record number of Arab heads of state arriving in Davos for this year’s summit, it is clear that the region, because of its geopolitical and economic location, is a strong candidate to act as a mediator between such crises.

“We have seen the return of the region as the centerpiece of global geopolitical efforts,” Kairos told Arab News.

Notable examples of this over the past year include US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s hosting of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Sino-Arab summit in December, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role in a prisoner exchange. is included. between Russia and Ukraine.

“It’s a dose of realism to say, even if your interests lie elsewhere, that this region is a key to global stability, it’s a key to energy stability and economic stability around the world,” Carroz said.

“I think many countries have realized this by looking at the events of the last year.”

WEF President Borge Brende also highlighted the importance of the Arab world at the opening of this year’s meeting. “We have six heads of state and government, and a very strong delegation,” he told a news conference.

“The Middle East is also important when it comes to investment, sovereign wealth funds that are investing all over the world,” he added.

Although Kairos praised Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar for their recent progress on the economic and diplomatic fronts, he urged them not to take their foot off the reform accelerator.

“The hope now is that higher energy prices, and I have to say, a more favorable fiscal environment, does not ease the momentum around reforms to further consolidate that position and move forward on that path of prosperity and economic importance.” is,” he said. Told.

The economic importance of Saudi Arabia is evident from the scale and strength of its growth rate. The Kingdom is set to overtake India as the fastest growing major economy in 2023, driven by the benefits of higher energy prices.

According to official data released by India’s Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Saudi Arabia is expected to surpass India with a growth of 7.6 per cent in GDP.

“The Gulf Cooperation Council has been one of the strongest sub-regions in terms of economic growth,” said Carroz.

“For 2022, Saudi Arabia was one of the fastest growing large countries with an economic growth of around 8 percent. Keep in mind, the S&P is down 20 percent over the last year,” he added, referring to the US Stock Market Index, which tracks 500 publicly traded domestic companies.

“If we have a repeat of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, which investors have a deep patient pool of capital? This is again the Sovereign Wealth Fund of the Arab world. They then played a key role in stabilizing global markets and providing liquidity.

With this in mind, Carroz predicts that if the world enters recession, the Gulf countries will “again be front and center in those efforts.”

According to WEF’s own research, two-thirds of chief economists expect a global recession this year, given continued geopolitical tensions in the US and Europe and further monetary belt-tightening.

“With two-thirds of chief economists expecting a worldwide recession in 2023, the global economy is in a precarious state,” WEF Managing Director Sadia Zahidi told a news conference ahead of the meeting.

“The current high inflation, low growth, high debt and high fragmentation environment reduce the incentives for investment needed to drive growth back and raise the living standards of the world’s most vulnerable.”

More than 2,700 world leaders and diplomats will participate in this year’s WEF meeting, with strong representation from all major regions of the world.

However, Arab delegations absent from this year’s summit include the crisis-hit nations of Lebanon and Yemen. Kairouj says both governments were urged to join but to no avail.

“We have extended invitations to their governments, and at one point we had positive momentum,” he said.

“But unfortunately, internal dynamics have prevented him from representing. You know, Lebanon, for example, now has a presidential vacancy, and it is difficult for ministers or the prime minister to travel under these circumstances.

Lebanon has been plunged into its worst financial crisis since late 2019. Despite the unprecedented crisis, which has plunged millions into poverty, its politicians have been waging a relentless struggle, leaving the appointment of a new president deadlocked since last October.

Arab participation in the WEF and other such summits takes on an added urgency because of the common threat of man-made climate change, with extreme weather events and environmental damage perpetuated in the Middle East region.

“By 2050, we could lose 14 percent of the region’s GDP because of water issues,” Carroz said. “If no action is taken very quickly, this region is one of the areas that will suffer the most due to climate change.”

Although the climate conference COP27 took place in Egypt last November, and with COP28 being hosted by the UAE later this year, Kairouz says the stage is already being set for 2035 to “be the leader and pioneer of this region”. There’s a huge opportunity.”

He added: “We have all the tools we need – the financial tools and the expertise in terms of managing large projects – to become a truly global leader in climate action.”

In addition, the Davos meeting will have the largest business participation ever with more than 1,500 private sector leaders registered across 700 organizations, including more than 600 of the world’s top CEOs from WEF Partners.

The meeting will also be attended by over 125 experts and heads of the world’s leading universities, research institutes and think tanks.

According to the organisers, the WEF meeting will also be climate-neutral for the sixth year in a row.