United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during the 55th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2025.
REUTERS/Yves Herman
I learned today there’s a guided meditation session each morning in the Congress Centre, the main hub of activity for WEF programming. I’d drop by, but I’m afraid it would make me nervous. I’m sticking to the coffee bar in the UAE Pavilion on the Promenade where I tried my first qahwa, an Arabic coffee, this week, flavored with rosewater and cardamom. The United Arab Emirates has a big presence here this year, with a delegation of at least 100 from government and private sector, promoting its investments in AI innovation.
Three highlights from Wednesday:
- Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchezsaid “sí” to continued support for multilateral public health efforts, an obvious rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s order that the US withdraw from the World Health Organization. But he devoted much of his appearance to a critique of social media, which he says has oversimplified and polarized public debate.
- Apparently, Iran isn’t a security threat. Well, at least that’s what its Vice President for Strategic Affairs Javad Zariftold the Davos crowd, saying that if Iran wanted a nuclear weapon the country would have one by now. He also said of Gaza, “Hamas is still there,” and that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu did not achieve his goal.
- The world may be in the middle of a “masculine wave,” as fashion icon Diane von Furstenbergtold me in Davos this week, and, yes, President Trump did issue anexecutive order essentially ending Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives in federal government, but gender parity was on the agenda in Davos. A panel including government ministers from Congo and Mexico and the head of Europol, notably a woman, tackled the reasons why women make up just 15% of heads of state and 33% of parliamentarians globally. (Note: In 2024, only 28% of WEF participants were women. Just sayin’.)
And three things to watch today:
- Trump, of course. He joins the Forum via video conference at 5 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET) here in Davos for a session introduced by WEF founder Klaus Schwab and facilitated by the organization’s President and CEO Børge Brende. I’ll be in the Congress Centre for it and will report on reactions from Davos participants.
- We’ll also hear from Argentina’s President Javier Milei who is continuing his first international trip of 2025. His trip to Davos follows his appearance at President Trump’s inauguration in Washington, DC, where it was actually colder than it is here in the Alps right now.
- Also be on the lookout for appearances by members of the US delegation. Tomorrow WEF features a discussion with US Governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.