Why in news?
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting 2023 in the Davos, Switzerland was the largest in history, convening a record number of leaders from governments, businesses, and civil society.
What about the World Economic Forum (WEF)?
- WEF - The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland.
- WEF is known for its annual summit in Davos, Switzerland.
- Objective - The forum strives to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance.
- Founder Chairperson - Economist Klaus Schwab founded the WEF in 1971 and has been its chairperson since then.
- WEF Partners - The WEF is largely funded by its partnering corporations.
- Annual summit - WEF is known for its annual summit in Davos, Switzerland.
- The theme of this year was ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented World’.
- Major reports published by WEF
- Global Competitiveness Report
- Global IT Report
- Global Gender Gap Report
- Global Energy Transition Index
- Global Risk Report
- Global Travel and Tourism Report
What are the key takeaways from the WEF’s 2023 meeting?
- Economy - Major economies such as the US, the European Union (EU) and China are seemingly beyond the risk of a recession now.
- As the richer nations look to focus inwards, protecting their own workers, energy sufficiency, supply lines, etc., concerns were raised that this policy direction would hit developing economies.
- A warning has been issued on friendshoring (limiting the trade of key inputs to trusted countries in order to reduce the supply chain risks).
- 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.
- Climate - The World Economic Forum, supported by more than 45 partners launched the Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA).
- It is a global initiative to fund public, private and philanthropic partnerships (PPPPs) to help unlock the 3 trillion dollar of financing needed each year to reach net zero, reverse nature loss and restore biodiversity by 2050.
- Pakistan brought up the issue of a loss and damage fund for the developing countries.
- Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund is a financing mechanism that was agreed in COP27 of UNFCCC to compensate the most vulnerable countries from climate-linked disasters.
What does it hold for India?
- India’s efforts - Global leaders hailed India for its strong ability to attract global investments amid a churning in the supply chains with its policies like Product-Linked Incentives (PLI).
- IMF deputy managing director Gita Gopinath also praised India’s digital and physical infrastructure prowess and called for reforms in land and labour markets.
- India is also expected to remain resilient despite the global slowdown impacting the emerging markets.
- 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.
- A thematic centre on healthcare and life sciences is to be set up in Telangana.
References
- The Indian Express | World Economic Forum’s 2023 Davos Event
- The Print | Key takeaways from the World Economic Forum
- CNBCTV18 | Davos 2023: Key takeaways for India
