Davos, Europe Brief News – World Economic Forum 2022 kicks off at Davos amid large participation of global business leaders.
The four-day meeting kicked off on Monday with a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“This is the world’s most influential economic platform, where Ukraine has something to say,” Zelenskiy said in his daily video address on Sunday night.
As the WEF meeting emerges from a coronavirus pandemic hiatus of more than two years, a deferral from January to May means that attendees are surrounded by spring flowers and verdant slopes rather than navigating icy streets.
But not only the weather is different in 2022, with Russian politicians, executives and academics entirely absent.
Russian institutions such as its sovereign wealth fund, state banks and private companies have in previous years thrown some of the most glitzy parties, serving black caviar, vintage champagne and foie gras.
They even hired Russia’s most prominent musicians and pop stars to perform for top chief executives.
Aside from the Ukraine crisis, the post-pandemic recovery, tackling climate change, the future of work, accelerating stakeholder capitalism and harnessing new technologies are among the topics scheduled for discussion at Davos.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg are among the leaders due to address the meeting.
On the business agenda, discussions are likely to focus on the souring state of financial markets and the global economy.
After a sharp bounceback from the downturn triggered two years ago by the onset of the pandemic, there are now myriad threats to that recovery, leading the International Monetary Fund to downgrade its global growth forecast for the second time since the year began. Read full story
Inflation due to hobbled supply chains emerged as a problem last year, particularly in the U.S. economy.
That has been compounded since the beginning of 2022 by events including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and waves of COVID-19 lockdowns across China that have stalled a recovery.
