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The World Economic Forum is meeting next week in Davos, with Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi opening the forum, and US President Donald Trump closing it. One of the focuses of the annual meeting will be on finding ways to reaffirm international cooperation on common challenges, such as the environment and the global economy.

The 48th World Economic Forum (WEF) 48th Annual Meeting will take place on 23-26 January 2018 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme:  Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World.

According to Klaus Schwab, WEF founder and executive chairman, speaking at a press briefing in Geneva yesterday, in the intertwined, interdependent, fast-moving world, traditional ways are no longer working, and organisations are finding difficult to cope which change. He insisted on the need to bring all stakeholders together to collectively address global issues.

Davos will have a three-part feature, he said: a collaborative approach since nobody alone can solve the issues of the global agenda, an integrated approach, and a constructive approach. There are many opportunities and perils like never before, and faced with the danger of the collapse of the global system, “it is in our hands to improve the state of the world, that’s what the World Economic Forum stands for,” Schwab said.

The world may be moving out of the economic crisis, but it is still stuck in social crisis, he said.

He remarked on the “unprecedented” number of heads of state attending the Davos meeting this year. According to a WEF release, Paolo Gentiloni, Italy’s prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, Emmanuel Macron, French president, Theresa May, United Kingdom prime minister, and Justin Trudeau, Canadian prime minister, are expected to attend. Rumours in the press have it that German Chancellor Angela Merkel could also join the group.

According to Børge Brende, newly appointed WEF president and former Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Davos will welcome some 70 heads of state and 340 ministers and political leaders [pdf]. Among the reasons for this surge of interest from the public sector, according to Brende at the press briefing, is that the world at the start of 2018 is facing real systemic challenges. If the economic growth is back, it is not as inclusive as it should be, and does not create as many jobs as it should, he said.

Brende also underlined the geopolitical aspect of the meeting and said in a multi-polar world, regions are important. He said 10 heads of state from Africa are expected to come to Davos, notably to discuss the horn of Africa, and to attend a special session on peace and reconciliation in Africa. The Middle East will be represented by nine heads of state, and a special diplomatic session on Syria is scheduled, as well as a session bringing together Israeli and Palestinian entrepreneurs.

In addition, Davos will practically be a European summit, he said, with most European countries being represented at the highest level. Latin America will be represented by six heads of state, he said, and a special diplomatic session will be organised on the Venezuela crisis.

Officials from some 40 international organisations [pdf] will attend Davos, including Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations; Roberto Azevêdo, director-general of the World Trade Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, Francis Gurry, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Angel Gurría, secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Zeid Ra’ad Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, according to the press release.

Some 1,900 members of the private sector are registered, and almost 900 leaders from non-governmental organisations, social entrepreneurs, academia, labour organisations, faith-based and religious groups, and selected media. The meeting features over 400 sessions, nearly half of which will be webcast.

Emma Benameur, head of programme design, and member of the Executive Committee, said at the press briefing that the goal of the organising team for Davos is to look at ways to change mindsets and bring fresh perspectives.