World Economic Forum "Davos 2023" kicks off amid absence of many world leaders

CAIRO - 17 January 2023: The World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting (Davos 2023), the world's largest annual economic event, kicked off in Switzerland on Monday, amid the absence of many world leaders.

 

This year's forum is held under the theme "Cooperation in a Fragmented World", from January 16 to 20, with the participation of world government, financial, business and civil society leaders to discuss the state of the world and global economic development priorities for the next year.

 

According to World Economic Forum officials, more than 2,700 leaders from 130 countries, including 52 heads of state and government, will attend the event in the Swiss Alpine resort.

 

Representatives from the United States will make up the largest group with 33 delegates. About 18 additional billionaires come from Europe, and 13 from India, including industrialist Gautam Adani, the fourth richest person in the world, according to the Billionaires Index.

 

However, a large number of high-level leaders will be notably absent from the 2023 event; US President Joe Biden will be absent from this year's meeting, along with French President Emmanuel Macron and new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese businessmen will also be absent, due to the repercussions of the recent rise in "Covid-19" cases in the country and the turmoil in the local stock market, which saw the evaporation of about $ 224 billion of the wealth of China's wealthy in 2022.

 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will also miss the event due to the country's ongoing energy crisis.

 

On the other hand, German Chancellor Olaf Schultz, the sole representative of the G7 leaders, is scheduled to attend Davos 2023, along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin will also be absent from the event, along with the entire Russian business community, after the guest list was crossed out due to sanctions imposed on Russia over the military operation in Ukraine.