Macron, Zelensky and the Chinese Prime Minister expected at the Davos Forum next week

Emmanuel Macron is expected next week in Davos, the World Economic Forum, organizer of this annual meeting of world leaders, confirmed on Tuesday in the Swiss Alps resort. Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang will mark China's return to the highest level at the Forum since Covid. The United States will be represented by its head of diplomacy, Antony Blinken and by Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor. Alongside the President of the European Commission, around sixty heads of state and government are expected. Among them, a newcomer should attract attention, Argentine President Javier Milei. The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, who will speak for the third time at the Davos Forum since the start of the war, will be physically present this year. Russian bosses and officials have no longer been invited to the Forum since the invasion, almost two years ago.

The French president has not visited Davos since 2018. His visit to the Graubünden resort where the world's powerful people gather will not fail to be ridiculed by the left, the unions and a number of NGOs who will denounce the " president of the rich” and among themselves. Heads of government and ministers generally argue in their defense that the WEF makes it possible to meet in a few hours with counterparts from all continents, discreetly or not, as well as major international investors.

This 54th edition of the WEF (the English acronym for the World Economic Forum), which starts on Monday January 15, takes place in a “particularly complex geopolitical and economic context”, underlined its president, the former Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Borge Brende. The war between Israel and Hamas will obviously be one of the subjects discussed at conferences and behind the scenes. Israeli President Isaac Herzog as well as Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the heads of the Jordanian and Iraqi governments are among the participants. In the past, the Davos Forum was the scene of meetings between Israelis and Palestinians.

The slogan for this 2024 edition is “restore confidence”. In this “fractured” world leading to “uncertainty and pessimism”, Klaus Schwab, the tireless founder of the Forum, aged 86, calls for “rebuilding trust”. Beyond words, the WEF attempts to provide shared solutions between public and private partners by building coalitions on themes as varied as health, climate or artificial intelligence, a theme which will dominate many round tables. Of the 2,800 participants announced from 120 countries, some 800 CEOs from around the world are expected, including around 150 from the tech world.