Will Davos 2024 be different from its predecessors and rebuild trust

By : Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Al-Naimi

Geopolitical issues dominate the annual meeting of global political and economic elites, from Ukraine to Gaza, trade, supply chains and the Red Sea, the World Economic Forum, which brings together more than 60 world leaders, as well as hundreds of economic leaders, opens Monday in the Swiss resort of Davos, from January 15 to 19, and comes in the most complex geopolitical and economic context in decades.

“Rebuilding trust”, the slogan under which the annual conference of the World Economic Forum (Davos) will launch in 2024, and the Fifty-fourth annual meeting, opens the space for world leaders to discuss important and urgent issues towards achieving the Davos goal for this year, which is to rebuild trust, including the consolidation of the principles of transparency, consistency and responsibility.

For one week each January, the Swiss city of Davos (the customary name for the annual conference) becomes the focus of the world’s attention, as global elites gather in the small Alpine town for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

But why are there so many people coming together The answer comes simply, to discuss the future direction of life on our planet and the pressing issues of the present time at various levels.

The world is waiting for Davos 2024 He hopes that this year’s Davos meeting will witness a solution to the ongoing crises, the impact of which is reflected on the whole world… At the forefront of everyone’s first concerns is the emergency crisis in the Middle East, especially what is happening in Gaza and the Red Sea and its impact on global trade and supply chains, how to achieve the principle of security and cooperation in a torn world, even though most of the world’s countries are not geographically close to what is happening, how can the countries of the world deal effectively with security crises, at the same time by putting an end to conflicts, and how can they identify areas where cooperation is necessary to ensure a win-win scenario for all parties concerned.

The year 2023 witnessed accelerated fluctuations and many challenges, ranging from the expansion of artificial intelligence and its dominance on the public scene, to economic uncertainty, one of the questions raised is how can countries use artificial intelligence to benefit everyone How to balance the divergent regulatory landscape between innovation and societal risk How will artificial intelligence interact with other transformative technologies, including quantum computing and biotechnology And how can artificial intelligence as a driving force of the economy.

The third issue is whether governments, the business sector and civil society can create growth and jobs for a new era and come together around a new economic framework to avoid a decade of low growth and put people at the heart of a more prosperous path.

The climate issue is one of the four priorities of Davos 2024, complementing the international efforts exerted and the results reached by the Dubai climate conference (COP 28) 2023, on a long-term strategy for climate, nature and energy, and announcing the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era.

Despite the many changes and emergency events in 2023, will Davos 2024 be different from its predecessors and rebuild trust.