World leaders set for Davos 2015

This year’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (Wef) will take place from Wednesday to Friday in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. It is expected draw over 40 Heads of State and government to discuss global challenges. Some of the global challenges to be discussed include: environment and resource scarcity, employment and human capital, gender parity; long-term investing, infrastructure and development, food security and agriculture, global crime, social inclusion as well as the future of financial systems. Amb. Claver Gatete, Rwanda’s Minister for Finance and Economic Planning yesterday told The New Times that as in previous events, the Rwandan delegation at the Forum would hold meetings with business leaders and other economic actors as well as investors interested in the opportunities Rwanda can offer. “There will be people keen on investing in Rwanda in many areas including energy, ICT, finance, among others and we’ll look into how we can be partners,” Gatete said. “Beyond investment, there will be sharing of ideas on the global economy and what is influencing it.” Talking about the theme of this year’s meeting, The New Global Context, in a video released ahead of the Summit, Prof. Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Chairman of the World Economic Forum, said he expects the meeting to address “all the burning issues.” Schwab said: “The key issue is how we can restore trust in our institutions? Trust is not only related to ethical behaviour. Trust means a leadership responsibility, where you respond to the needs of those who have entrusted you with leadership.” About 1,500 business leaders, over 250 representatives from governments, as well as representatives of the youth, civil society, academics and the media are expected to attend. On what he referred to as the new global context, Schwab said there is need to restore confidence in our future. “We have to recognise that the world has fundamentally changed, and it is this that has informed the choice of the theme for this meeting,” he said. “We need to explore the fundamental forces at work technologically, socially and economically and decide accordingly,” he added. With women forming 51 per cent of the world’s population, gender-driven growth was a highlight topic during last year’s meeting. Last year, during a session on Gender-driven Growth, panelists noted that examples from progressive businesses and countries have demonstrated women’s potential. It was then acknowledged that promoting more women to leadership roles and creating a conducive environments for women is of paramount importance.

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World leaders set for Davos 2015