The World Economic Forum (WEF), known as the summit of Davos, formally kicked off on Monday, January 16th, 2023, in Davos, Switzerland, resuming after a long hiatus due to the pandemic. The annual winter gathering of world leaders returned to in-person pre-pandemic normalcy, but the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and economic instability led to the theme of the 53rd annual meeting being “Cooperation in a Fragmented World.” “So much is at stake. We really need to find solutions on wars and conflicts. We also have to secure that we don’t go into recession and we have ten years of low growth as we had in the 1970s,” said Borge Brende, the WEF president.

Global business leaders, heads of states, and representatives of non-governmental organizations have gathered for conferences hosted in the Alpine ski town since 1971. While most of the Group of Seven (G7) leaders put off the summit this year, it drew a record attendance of more than 2,700 leaders from 130 countries, including 50 heads of states and governments. The heads of Spain, South Africa, South Korea, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, US Climate Envoy John Jerry, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva are among the attendees.

The five-day gathering of the world’s elite will focus on challenges such as high inflation and growing geopolitical tensions amid climate change. “The annual meeting in Davos will happen against the most complex geopolitics and geoeconomic backdrop in decades. The global connectedness branches out to other areas at a time of rising inflation, fragile food and energy systems, and increased inequality,” said Brende. The WEF’s survey of global risk found that the rising cost of living crisis and climate change are the biggest short and long-term global risks that need to be addressed in the Forum.

The WEF is expected to promote global trade after economic globalization slowed due to the over-regulation of cross-border trade and growing protectionism during the pandemic. As the Ukraine war and possible recession dominate the event, Russia has no participation. Yet, China returns to Davos to assure foreign investors that they are open for business after the three-year hiatus of the pandemic cut-off, hoping to decelerate deglobalization. Partnered with Meta, the one-week gathering plans to become a year-round project in a virtual village called Global Collaboration Village. “This could revolutionize global collaboration,” said WEF Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab, who founded the Forum. The distant ski resort meeting seeking closer global cooperation is expected to impact the world economy positively as a record 56 finance ministers come to Davos.