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January 30, 2009
Global Leaders Pledge Collaboration for Global Solutions to Global Crisis
Photo: A sign with the logo of the World Economic Forum stands in the snow during preparations for the upcoming Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 26, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Christof Sonderegger)
Photo: Impression of Davos: The biggest tourism resorts of the Swiss alps, captured before the opening of the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 25, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Christof Sonderegger)
Government, business and civil society leaders are at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 at Davos, Switzerland, in record numbers to discuss ways out of the worst financial crisis in eight decades. "Davos fills the vital need for a global and dialogue-based platform where knowledgeable and empowered stakeholders can collaborate to address issues of common criticality. I can't think of a better time and a better reason to be at Davos," said Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman, and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, India, and Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting 2009.
"It is important that leaders who come here go back and work on ways of finding far-reaching policies. It would allow us to create sustainable economic growth and create jobs and coordinate macroeconomic policies," insisted Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations (1997-2006).
"I believe we are also facing a crisis of governance at a national and international level. The current architecture of managing global affairs is broken and needs to be fixed. We have new players that have to be integrated, and the poor have to be given a voice," he said. "The world has changed; are we capable of changing fast enough to save the planet?"
Photo: Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation talks to the participants of the 'Private Meeting of the Members of the International Business Council with Vladimir Putin' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 29, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Sebastian Derungs)
Photo: Gary D. Cohn, President, and Co-Chief Operating Officer, Goldman Sachs, USA, captured during the session 'Managing Global Risks' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 29, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Sebastian Derungs)
Photo: Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations, New York adjusts his headphones during the session 'Gaza: The Case for Middle East Peace' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 29, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Monika Flueckiger)
Photo: Mark Zuckerberg, Founder, and Chief Executive Officer, Facebook, USA, captured during the session 'The Next Digital Experience' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 30, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Remy Steinegger)
Photo: Muhtar A. Kent, President, and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company, USA; Co-Chair of the Governors Meeting for Consumer Industries 2009, speaks during the session 'The Global Compact: Creating Sustainable Markets' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 29, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Christof Sonderegger)
Stephen Green, Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings, United Kingdom, and Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting 2009, agreed that the Annual Meeting gives leaders the space to share ideas needed to address current challenges. "Talking through what we need to do is important, and that is why Davos is more than ordinarily important," he said.
The world is still in crisis. Yet, we should treat it "as an opportunity to set goals for how we want to come out of it, such as energy sufficiency, world pollution. We should shape policies which will help to solve some of those problems," said Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, News Corporation, USA. "Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth; it's open markets, capitalism, and we've proved this again and again in the last century," he cautioned.
Photo: Shimon Peres, President of Israel, speaks during the session 'The Values behind Market Capitalism' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 29, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Remy Steinegger)
Photo: Wen Jiabao, Premier of the People's Republic of China, is captured during a session at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 28, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Christof Sonderegger)
Photo: Melinda French Gates speaks during the 'Gates Foundation' press conference at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 30, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Remy Steinegger)
"I do not expect we will find from Davos solutions but expect that we can get a common understanding of the reasons for the crisis. We can get a good understanding of how we can overcome such a severe crisis in a globalized world," said Werner Wenning, Chairman of the Board of Management, Bayer, Germany, and Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting 2009. "We're talking about growing populations; we have to address issues of how to secure energy supply and of climate change; we're also talking a lot about sustainability and returning to the basics of sustainable behavior."
Photo: Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, speaks during the session 'A Conversation with' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 31, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Remy Steinegger)
Photo: Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan, captured during the session 'Special Address by' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 31, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Sebastian Derungs)
Photo: Carlos Ghosn, President and Chief Executive Officer, Renault, France; President and Chief Executive Officer, Nissan, Japan; Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum; Co-Chair of the Governors Meeting for the Automotive Industry 2009, captured during the session 'Special Address by Taro Aso' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 31, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Sebastian Derungs)
Photo: Joseph E. Stiglitz, Professor, Columbia University, USA, gestures during the session 'Rebooting the Global Economy' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 31, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Christof Sonderegger)
Photo: Robert Z. Lawrence, Albert L. Williams Professor of Trade and Investment, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA; Chair, Global Agenda Council on Trade Facilitation, talks to the participants during the session 'The Fight against Protectionism' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 31, 2009. (© World Economic Forum/Monika Flueckiger)
More than 2,500 participants from 96 countries are participating in the Annual Meeting held under the theme "Shaping the Post-Crisis World," including a record 40 heads of state or government. Essential finance, foreign affairs, trade, and energy ministers will join heads of non-governmental organizations, social entrepreneurs, and religious leaders at the Meeting. Around 60% of the participants are business leaders from the Forum's members that include 1,000 of the foremost companies from across the world and economic sectors.
|GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 5:27 AM | Link to this Post
