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As WEF gets underway, the list of world leaders not attending Davos speaks volumes


A scene before the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 15, 2024.

Adam Galisi | cnbc

LONDON – It’s that time of year again when the great and the good gather for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

A number of heads of state, politicians and business magnates are set to attend the four-day event at the alpine resort – but what may be more telling is which leaders are staying away from the stage.

While Donald Trump, who is inaugurated as US President on Monday, is expected to address the forum via live video link on Thursday, several key leaders will be completely absent from the event.

These include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian leader Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Of the Group of Seven industrialized nations (G7) – which includes the US, Europe’s largest economies, Canada and Japan – the only head of state to attend the summit in person is outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The WEF says this year’s event – ​​the 55th annual forum, which runs from Monday to Thursday – will convene some 3,000 leaders from more than 130 countries, with the gathering “demonstrating the critical need for dialogue in an increasingly uncertain era.” It said 350 government leaders, including 60 heads of state and government, “will gather in Davos-Klosters to address pressing challenges and shape emerging opportunities.”

People walk past a big screen during a speech by US President Donald Trump at the Davos Congress Center (C), venue of the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in the city of Davos in eastern Switzerland on January 26, 2018. / AFP Photo / Miguel Medina (Photo credit Read Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images)

Miguel Medina AFP | getty images

The theme of the event is “Collaboration for an Intelligent Age”, with the agenda focusing on five key areas: reimagining growth, industry in the intelligent age, investing in people, protecting trust and rebuilding trust.

However, not all world leaders will be there to discuss these issues.

“The leaders of Brazil, China, India, who gave keynote speeches 10 years ago, are not there now. Russia has not been welcomed for a few years now, Keir Starmer will not be there. Macron will not be there,” at Leiden University. Jan Art Scholte, a professor of global changes and governance challenges, told CNBC on Thursday.

“True, the Prime Minister of Spain is going there and some others too, but the general picture of the heads of state, heads of government present there is that these are not big players. I think if you had gone there, there would have been a G20 In the list, there will be a small minority (who are participating),” he said.

No official reason is often given for lack of participation in the WEF, but domestic problems – ranging from slow economic growth to political crisis – have been known to keep heads of government at home.

China’s President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening plenary session of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017.

Jason Alden | Bloomberg | getty images

In recent years, there has been some hesitation about joining a program that has been accused of being elitist and out of touch.

CNBC has contacted WEF for comment. The Forum has repeatedly stated that it provides a venue where stakeholders from business, government, academia, civil society, media and the arts can meet on a “global, unbiased, non-profit platform.”

“These people come together to find common ground and take advantage of opportunities for positive change on big global issues,” it says.

who will be there

This year’s summit will still feature several big names – an event that began in 1971 under the auspices of Klaus Schwab, who remained acting chairman of the event until earlier this year.

China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Argentina’s Prime Minister Javier Meili and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa are all scheduled to speak in Davos this week.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will attend, along with leaders of global organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization.

Ursula von der Leyen reacts after being elected President of the European Commission for a second term at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, July 18, 2024.

Johanna Geron | reuters

Sven Smit, a senior partner at WEF strategic partner McKinsey & Company, said in online comments that a priority for participants would be to “understand what is on the minds of the leaders present in Davos.”

“You can’t completely predict it,” Smit said. There are many themes that people suggest, ranging from development to sustainability, but what emerges as the Davos theme is not completely predictable. And that’s the interesting part.”

However, many of the Western institutions present have, in recent years, found themselves on the wrong side of pressure against globalization by populist leaders like Trump and countries like Russia and China.

The WEF has also fallen victim to this anti-establishment trend, Scholte said, and while the presence of leaders like Trump might not have been sought in the past, there is now an acceptance that the world has changed.

He said, “I don’t think the promoters of a liberal, open world economy talk about opposing forces and ideas with as much disdain as they might have done before the global financial crisis.”

“I think there’s a little more humility in that, no, it doesn’t work perfectly sometimes. And no, we haven’t always taken enough care of people who feel left out of it.”

Nonetheless, he stressed that the WEF still holds an attraction for many business and political leaders.

“There are many indicators that a site like the World Economic Forum is not as strong a magnet as it might have been a few decades ago,” Scholte said. “But the idea that it is no longer a magnet, and the idea that it no longer has certain areas within the world economic regime where it can still be very strong, I think would be wrong.”



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