WEF: Swiss president pleads for sustainable growth
Building a sustainable global economy, digitalisation and increasing international cooperation and are among the important issues on the Davos Agenda, said Guy Parmelin in his opening speech at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) online conference.
“A crisis is a productive state. You simply have to get rid of its aftertaste of catastrophe.” Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, said on Sunday that this quote by Swiss writer Max Frisch defined the goal for this year very well.
In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic it was necessary to plan the way forward for the period after the acute phase of the crisis, he said.
Parmelin, who is also the Swiss economics minister, said the speed and efficiency with which vaccines had been developed have shown what states, companies and science are capable of when they join forces. In order to avoid another crisis, politics, business and society must make a decisive commitment to sustainable growth, he stressed.
Parmelin said the WEF, which normally takes place in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos, had long provided a space for dialogue between politics, business and civil society. “This dialogue is essential for the future,” he said.
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All quiet in Davos
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No WEF, no Spengler Cup: Davos is suffering the consequences of Covid-19. But its inhabitants are keeping amazingly cool.
For his part, WEF founder Klaus Schwab believed the world must strive for a higher degree of social maturity. In an article in some Swiss newspapers on Monday, he wrote that the aim for 2021 would be to create a solid basis for the well-being of people and the planet. He said this would require getting Covid-19 under control, signing targets for zero greenhouse gas emissions, and companies moving their focus away from short-term profits.
Important signals
Guy Parmelin regretted that it had not been possible to hold the 51st annual meeting of the WEF in Davos, but he hoped that the meeting organised in Singapore in May would send out important signals.
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WEF’s Asian relocation to cost Switzerland tens of millions
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Swiss hotels, restaurants and shops are counting up the cost of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) flagship event moving to Singapore next year.
He added that he was already looking forward to the annual meeting being held again in Switzerland in 2022 – “that would also be a sign that the acute phase of the crisis was in the past”, he said.
The online “Davos AgendaExternal link” conference lasts until Friday. Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among those expected to attend.
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Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland
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An overview of the latest Covid-related information in the Alpine nation.
First large-scale alpine solar plant approved in Switzerland
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The approval was met with satisfaction by the project's organisers, but it also brings with it a certain amount of pressure.
Medieval squirrels may have ‘helped spread leprosy’
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Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
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The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
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The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
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Why does Davos Man get it so wrong?
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The World Economic Forum should put global leaders in the audience to listen to social workers, virologists and reporters, argues Simon Kuper.
WEF annual meeting moves from Switzerland to Singapore
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The 51st annual meeting of business, political and civil society leaders will take place in Singapore between May 13-16, WEF announced on Monday. Organisers added that it plans to return to Davos in 2022. The event has moved out of Switzerland in stages. Having been advised not to hold the meeting in Davos on its…
WEF annual event should stay in Switzerland, say parliamentarians
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Several parliamentarians have sounded the alarm over rumours that the WEF could hold its annual event in Singapore due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.