The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, which will hold its 53rd annual meeting next week, announced on Tuesday a record attendance of political and business leaders to discuss topics such as the global economic slowdown and environmental challenges. , but also the war in Ukraine in the context of numerous crises and geopolitical changes, Reuters, EFE and Agerpres agencies reported on Tuesday.

“We are stuck in a crisis mindset,” WEF Executive Director Klaus Schwab said at a press conference ahead of the event. “Davos should help change this way of thinking,” he said of the forum, which this year will be held under the motto “Cooperation in a Fractured World.”

The Davos Forum, traditionally held in January, had its last physical participation in the winter of 2020, shortly before the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 edition was held online, and the 2022 edition was moved from January to May due to a new wave of infections.

This year’s edition was attended by 52 heads of state and government, 56 ministers of finance, 19 heads of central banks, 35 ministers of foreign affairs, 30 ministers of trade, 39 heads of international organizations, including the IMF and WTO.

The famous Swiss ski resort will also host the largest participation of representatives of the business environment at this forum, in total about 1,500, of which about 600 are executive directors, the organizers stress that they will now have the largest number of women among them.

The debate will focus on near-term global challenges, such as avoiding a global recession in 2023, as well as solutions to ensure that already weakened global efforts to combat climate change are not affected by energy disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine. and sanctions imposed on Russia.

Economist, member of the leadership of the forum, Saadia Zahidi, said that one of the central topics of discussion will revolve around the idea of ​​rethinking economic growth and investment in such a way that they are compatible with environmental protection, the purpose of the meeting is to configure the global agenda in this sense.

Ukraine, which dominated last year’s forum, will also send a high-level delegation to Davos this year, and there will be several sessions on the topic of war.

The Asian continent will also have a significant presence at the forum, particularly with the presence of a “high-level delegation” from China, Klaus Schwab said, without yet specifying who the members would be.

He also noted that at this edition he aims to pay special attention to the topics of “gender equality” and “racial equality”.