GENEVA: Record participation from the Middle East and North Africa at the upcoming World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos reflects the region’s importance in the energy transition, WEF President Borge Brende told a virtual press briefing on Tuesday.
“We have six heads of state and government, and very strong delegations,” he said, adding, “The Middle East is also important when it comes to investment, with sovereign wealth funds that are investing all over the world. Huh.”
The WEF annual meeting will take place January 16-20 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, as multiple crises deepen and fragment the geopolitical landscape.
In a statement Tuesday, the WEF urged world leaders to address people’s urgent, critical needs while building the foundation for a more sustainable, resilient world by 2030.
“We see manifold political, economic and social forces driving increasing fragmentation globally and nationally. To address the root causes of this erosion of trust, we need to strengthen cooperation between government and business sectors, leading to a strong and sustainable recovery. At the same time, there must be a recognition that economic growth needs to be more resilient, more sustainable and leave no one behind,” said Klaus Schwab, WEF Founder and Executive Director said the chairman.
In the statement, the WEF announced the full agenda of its 53rd annual meeting, highlighting that it aims to address the world’s most pressing challenges by encouraging world leaders to cooperate on the interconnected issues of energy, climate and nature. to find solutions to meet pressing challenges; investment, trade and infrastructure; frontier technologies and industry resilience; jobs, skills, social mobility and health; and geopolitical cooperation in a multipolar world.
There will be a special emphasis on gender and geographic diversity in all sessions.
More than 2,700 leaders will take part in this year’s meeting, with strong representation from all major regions of the world.
In addition, the Davos meeting will have the largest business participation ever, with more than 1,500 leaders from 700 organizations registering, 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.
The WEF also stated that the meeting would be climate-neutral for the sixth year in a row.