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NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron and key Middle East leaders are slated to attend next week’s World Economic Forum, putting talks to end wars in Gaza and Ukraine at the top of the agenda for the global elite.
The 54th annual WEF gathering in the Swiss ski resort of Davos will occur against its most complicated geopolitical backdrop to date, its president Borge Brende said on Tuesday.
A challenging global economic picture, with shifting interest rate policies and rising debt, will also confront the central bankers, financiers and business leaders attending.
A key closed-door session addressing this will be led by the chief executives at British-based bank Barclays (BARC.L) and Canadian life insurer Manulife Financial Corp (MFC.TO), according to a copy of the agenda obtained by Reuters
Brende said much of this year’s focus would be high level diplomatic talks on wars in the Middle East, Ukraine and Africa.
“We will make sure that we bring together the right people … to see how we can solve this very challenging world”.
Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan would both attend, organizers said, making them the highest profile members of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration in Davos
White House official said Sullivan was expected to make a speech and that Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, would also attend. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Blinken and Sullivan will join key stakeholders in the conflict in Gaza, including leaders of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – both countries having emerged as Middle East powerbrokers – and Israel’s president Isaac Herzog in Davos.