Kagame in Davos for World Economic Forum

President Paul Kagame is in Davos, Switzerland where he will be joining a host of world leaders and captains of industry from around the globe for this year’s edition of World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting. Held under the theme, “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”, the 48th WEF meeting opens today, January 23 through 26, and will feature 400 sessions focusing on major economic and geopolitical issues around the world. Kagame is leading a high-powered government delegation which includes ministers Louise Mushikiwabo (Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and East African Community affairs), Claver Gatete (Finance), Jean de Dieu Rurangirwa(Information, Technology and Communication) and Dr Vincent Biruta (Environment), as well as Francis Gatare, the chief executive of Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board; and Clare Akamanzi, the chief executive, Rwanda Development Board. Organisers say panel discussions will tackle such issues as “skilling up for the fourth industrial revolution” and “navigating a multipolar and multiconceptual world”. Other Heads of State and Government expected at the meeting include UK Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Donald Trump, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia. Others include President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, President Michel Temer of Brazil, Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway, President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain, His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, among others. The four-day forum is exclusively co-chaired by women including; Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN); and Isabelle Kocher, Chief Executive Officer of ENGIE, a global energy player. Others include Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Ginni Rometty, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of IBM Corporation; Chetna Sinha, Founder and Chair of the Mann Deshi Foundation; and Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway. This year’s opening plenary will begin with a special address by the President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset, followed by welcoming remarks by Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, will deliver the key opening special address, according to the agenda. The forum’s programme is built around four key objectives; driving sustained economic progress, navigating a multipolar and multi-conceptual world, overcoming divisions in society and shaping the agile governance of technology. “The global context today has changed dramatically: geostrategic fractures have re-emerged on multiple fronts with wide-ranging political, economic and social consequences,” according to a concept note by the organisers. Schwab said the increasing failure and inability to achieve inclusive growth and preserve resources calls for development of new models for cooperation. “Our collective inability to secure inclusive growth and preserve our scarce resources puts multiple global systems at risk simultaneously. Our first response must be to develop new models for cooperation that are not based on narrow interests but on the destiny of humanity as a whole,” Schwab told journalists last week. President Kagame and his delegation will be looking to showcase investment opportunities that Rwanda offers to investors and entrepreneurs from around the world. In Davos, Kagame is also expected to speak at the Washington Post Foreign Policy Lunch 2018 as well as deliver the closing remarks at the Peace-building in Africa session, according to a statement from the President’s Office. Rwanda hosted the 2016 edition of the World Economic Forum on Africa. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Kagame in Davos for World Economic Forum