The World Economic Forum is taking place live once more following a hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, amid a series of challenges for the global economy.
With the theme “Cooperation in a Fragmented World”, the 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF) Conference opened in Davos (Switzerland) on January 16 in the context of the global economy facing many challenges. need to be coordinated. According to WEF, more than 2,700 guests attended the 53rd WEF Conference in Davos, including more than 50 heads of state and government, and more than 300 ministers. In addition, more than 1,500 executives from 700 companies and institutions were also present at Davos, an all-time record.
Fragmented World
WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab said the world is in crisis with increasing fragmentation at the global level and the erosion of trust between countries.
“To address the root cause of this erosion of trust, we need to strengthen government-business cooperation, enabling a strong and sustainable recovery. It must be recognized that economic development needs to be more flexible, more sustainable and no one should be left behind,” he said.
According to Bloomberg, a new era of rivalry between major powers is redrawing the map of the world economy and forcing business leaders to navigate a series of global hot spots. The war in Ukraine and US-China tensions have political leaders set new economic priorities, while managing a shortage of vital goods. Discussions during the five-day conference are expected to revolve around emerging geopolitical risks, as big business that thought the flat world was successfully established, now faces obstacles.
“We live in a more fragmented world in which there is financial fragility. Therefore, it is clear that what people are always thinking regarding is where and how to invest in a more multipolar world,” said Karen Harris at the consulting firm Bain & Co (USA) attending the WEF.
Lots of problems
Among the issues overshadowing this year’s WEF is the weaponization of energy, amid Russian-Western tensions over the Ukraine war. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he will not sell oil to any country that applies the price ceiling set by the G7. The shutdown of Russia’s natural gas supply pipelines also led to a hole in global demand.
Meanwhile, semiconductors used to make everything from electric vehicles to ballistic missiles and new artificial intelligence technology are becoming one of the major battleground areas of the global economy. Many countries are increasingly following the trend of shifting supply chains to more friendly countries, and at the same time seeking to subsidize domestic manufacturers to increase their autonomy, going once morest the policy of free trade. In addition, there is a tendency to reduce dependence on the USD from those who believe that the US uses this currency to achieve diplomatic goals. In addition, this year’s conference also focused on discussing a range of other issues such as new energy, climate change, employment, travel and tourism, health, technology application and trade digitization.
