Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
Starting today, Jan. 15, the 2024 World Economic Forum (WEF) will convene in Davos, Switzerland, with the theme of “Rebuilding Trust,” bringing together more than 2,800 delegates from 120 countries. The WEF is an international non-governmental organization for public-private sector collaboration whose principal advocacy is that “the world is best managed by a self-selected coalition of multinational corporations, governments and civil society organizations.”
Among the key participants are: Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general; Kristalina Georgieva, who heads the International Monetary Fund; Ajay S. Banga, president of the World Bank Group; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the World Trade Organization chief; and Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of NATO.
Top political leaders taking part include Li Qiang, China’s premier; French President Emmanuel Macron; Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president; Javier Milei, the Argentina president; Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s prime minister; Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president; Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego, Columbia’s president; Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis; Mohammed Shyaa Al Sudani, Iraq’s prime minister and others. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security Advisor Jake Sullivan will also attend the forum.
Some 1,600 business leaders, including over 800 of the world’s top CEOs, are also expected to participate.
“We have to rebuild trust in our future by moving beyond crisis management, looking at the root causes of the present problems, and building together a more promising future,” declared WEF founder Klaus Schwab.
The ongoing wars between Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Hamas, as well as escalated tensions in the Red Sea arising from terror-like attacks on cargo vessels carrying oil and valuable trade commodities mounted by Houthis reportedly sympathetic to Hamas’ cause, cast a giant shadow on this year’s Davos forum.
According to the WEF organizers: “The meeting would drive dialogue, cooperation, and partnerships on global imperatives, including economic growth, climate and nature action, energy security, technology governance, and human development.” Participants are expected “to deliver innovative, practical solutions” amid current global tensions and conflicts.
President Marcos participated in last year’s meeting in Davos to convey to the major multinational corporations that the Philippines was well on its way to full economic recovery after experiencing a steep, pandemic-driven recession. While he is not attending this year’s forum, it is clear from the outcome of his series of foreign trips — mostly undertaken to participate in the APEC and ASEAN summits — that the world’s leading MNCs have taken cognizance of the country’s rebound, and have marked specific areas of interest that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is determined to translate into new or enhanced investment projects in the country.
The meetings in Davos have also been responsible for creating heightened consciousness on the importance of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) “performance evaluation criteria that assess the robustness of a company’s governance mechanisms and its ability to effectively manage its environment and social impacts.”
In a world embroiled in conflict and crisis, rebuilding trust could bring about a significant reset toward peace and progress.
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