Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Frederick Shava is leading the Zimbabwean delegation at this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland accompanied by his counterparts, Finance and Economic Development Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube and Industry and Trade Minister Sekai Nzenza.
The WEF Annual Meeting 2023 will take place starting today the 16th of January up to the 20th in Davos, Switzerland.
The theme of this year’s meeting is ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented World,’ and it will be attended by leaders from government, business, and civil society to address the state of the world and discuss priorities for the year 2023.
The event is expected to draw a record number of business executives, and the passage of commercial, private, and government aircraft through Zurich’s airport suggests that overall attendance will be similar to that of COVID-19.
According to reports, 2 700 leaders from 130 countries, including 52 heads of state and government are in attendance.
This year’s meeting comes at a time the global economy is faced with uncertainty as a result of the continuation of the geo-political stand-off in Eastern Europe which continues to affect supply chains, soaring inflation and the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in China among other notable challenges.
This year President Emmerson Mnangagwa will not be in attendance having previously taken the platform as an opportunity to lure investment into the country. However the cabinet Ministers in his government are expected to explore various opportunities with elite business leaders at the summit.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa did not attend the Davos meeting because of the energy crisis affecting the country, his spokesman said on Sunday.
