The World Economic Forum (WEF) kicked off on Monday, January 16, in Davos, Switzerland, with several Heads of State and business leaders focusing on economic instability amid the current climate change crisis.

Under the theme: Cooperation in a Fragmented World, over 2,500 leaders shaping global politics and business are participating in the forum.

Several Rwandan members of cabinet including the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) Chief Executive Officer, Clare Akamanzi, will also participate at this year’s forum.

"There's no doubt that our 53rd annual meeting in Davos will happen against the most complex geopolitical and geoeconomic backdrop in decades. So much is at stake we really need to find solutions to the wars and conflicts. We also have to ensure that we don’t go into recession and we have ten years of low growth as we had in the 1970s," Borge Brende, the World Economic Forum president, said.

This year will also see the highest-ever business participation at Davos, with more than 1,500 leaders from 700 organizations, Brende added.

"Other sessions will discuss whether we are living through de-globalisation or re-globalisation, the impact of trade tensions and supply-chain disruptions, the cost-of-living crisis and the planet's heating climate.”

Equally important for the discussions is the Covid-19 pandemic, and the efforts to recover from its adverse impact.

According to Brende, the chief executive officers of vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer will speak. A panel will be dedicated to discussing how fast vaccines can be created the next time a pandemic hits.