Saudi Arabia announced that a high-ranking delegation will participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos, Switzerland, from January 15-19, under the theme of "Rebuilding Trust."
The delegation, chaired by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdallah, includes Saudi Ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar, Minister of Commerce Majid al-Kassabi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Envoy for Climate Adel al-Jubeir, Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih, Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Swaha, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar al-Khorayef, and Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal al-Ibrahim.
- Current challenges
The Saudi delegation will address these era-defining challenges by working with the international community to advance substantive global collaboration, drive economic resilience, build sustainable resource security, and harness human-centric innovation.
It would also explore the opportunities offered by emerging technologies and their impact on the policy and decision-making process.
The Saudi delegation will highlight the social and economic progress made within the framework of Vision 2030, the transformation, diversification, and development witnessed by the Kingdom in various fields, and the multiple investment opportunities available across the nation's thriving economy.
- Competitive capabilities
The Saudi delegation will share its expertise in enhancing the Kingdom's attractiveness as a private and foreign investment destination.
The delegation will also review the best practices and solutions developed by the Kingdom to enhance the economy's resilience and achieve financial sustainability, in line with its ambitions for economic diversification and sustainable growth under Vision 2030.
- Enhancing cooperation
The 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum will discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors to explore future opportunities, review solutions and developments within various economic and development sectors within the framework of international cooperation, and joint work between governments and various institutions.
The Forum brings together representatives from more than 100 governments, major international organizations, and more than 1,000 major private sector players, in addition to representatives of civil society and academic institutions.
The theme "Rebuilding Trust" highlights the importance of joint international action in confronting humanitarian, climate, social, and economic challenges.
- Global risks
In addition, the Global Risks Report 2024 issued by the World Economic Forum warned of a global risk landscape that will witness a decline in human development. It will weaken countries and individuals and expose them to new risks.
Given the systemic changes in global power mechanisms, climate, technology, and demographic distribution, global risks impose significant pressures that may exhaust the world's ability to adapt.
The report said that these matters are among its most prominent findings, which showed that cooperation on global issues is declining and that there is an urgent need to adopt approaches to address global risks.
The transnational risks will become harder to handle as global cooperation erodes.
In this year's Global Risks Perception Survey, two-thirds of respondents predict that a multipolar order will dominate in the next ten years as middle and great powers set and enforce – but also contest – current rules and norms.
WEF Managing Director Saadia Zahidi said underlying geopolitical tensions combined with the eruption of active hostilities in multiple regions contribute to an unstable global order characterized by polarizing narratives, eroding trust, and insecurity.
Zahidi warned that the situation leaves ample room for accelerating risks – like misinformation and disinformation – to propagate in societies that have already been politically and economically weakened in recent years.
- Misinformation and Conflict
Emerging as the most severe global risk anticipated over the next two years, foreign and domestic actors will leverage misinformation and disinformation to widen societal and political divides further.
Cost-of-living pressures continue to bite amidst persistently elevated inflation, interest rates, and economic uncertainty in much of the world.
Misinformation and disinformation have risen rapidly in rankings to first place for the two-year timeframe, and the risk is likely to become more acute as elections in several economies take place this year.
Interstate armed conflict is a new entrant into the top risk rankings over the two-year horizon as both a product and driver of state fragility.
With many conflicts currently ongoing in different parts of the world, the risks of geopolitical tensions and declining community resilience may lead to the spread of conflict contagion.
- Economic uncertainty and declining development
The continued state of economic uncertainty and the widening of the financial and technical gap are among the most prominent features of the coming years, and the lack of economic opportunities ranked sixth in risks over the next two years.
In the long term, obstacles to economic mobility are expected to increase, which will lead to the deprivation of large segments of the population of economic opportunities.
In addition, countries affected by conflict or climate risks may become isolated from investment, advanced technologies, and new employment opportunities.
In the absence of guaranteed and secure livelihoods, individuals may become more vulnerable to involvement in crime, militancy, and extremism.
- The planet is in danger
It is expected that environmental risks continue to dominate the risk landscape over all three timeframes, while the report called on business leaders to reconsider the steps that must be taken to confront global risks.
The report recommended focusing global cooperation efforts on accelerating the construction of protection barriers against the most urgent emerging risks, such as signing agreements to integrate artificial intelligence in the decision-making process.
