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Context: The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2023, held in the Swiss town of Davos, ended– a conference that started in a world possibly fundamentally altered, but whose processes and outcomes remained pretty much business as usual.

Details:

• The theme this year was ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented World’.

Key Takeaways:

On the economy:

• Most business leaders were upbeat about the economy, with the US and the European Union (EU) seemingly beyond the risk of a recession now.
• China ending its zero Covid curbs and opening shop again added to the positive outlook
• However, central banks of the major economies cautioned that concerns still remained, and said they would keep interest rates high to ensure inflation is under check.
• Many also pointed out that China opening up could mean a rise in its energy consumption, thereby driving up energy prices.

On Ukraine:

• Ukraine kept up its demand for more military aid to fight its war against Russia, and more financial aid to rebuild after the war, saying the reconstruction fund commitments should start coming in now and not after the war ends.

Climate:

• Everyone agreed upon the need for green energy and the need for more money to fight climate change.
• The World Economic Forum, supported by more than 45 partners launched the Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA), a global initiative to fund and grow new and existing public, private and philanthropic partnerships (PPPPs) to help unlock the $3 trillion of financing needed each year to reach net zero, reverse nature loss and restore biodiversity by 2050.

Projects launched:

• More than 50 “high-impact initiatives” was launched at the event.
• Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA) signed a partnership with the forum on urban transformation to give the state government “strategic and technical direction” while a thematic centre on healthcare and life sciences is to be set up in Telangana.
• The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations (CEPI) aims to develop new vaccines for future pandemics.

Who needs Davos?

• The jarring spectacle of the Davos event – where the uber-rich and powerful fly in on private jets to talk about poverty alleviation and climate action — came in for criticism yet again.
• However, others pointed out that despite its flaws, the conference is an opportunity for many decision-makers to meet and interact with each other

About WEF:

• It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.
• The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
• The Forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/world-economic-forums-davos-2023-major-takeaways-8396436/