Eduardo González
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will participate this week in his fifth Davos Forum, in which he will meet with the leaders of a hundred countries and the main international organizations, including the presidents of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, and of Argentina, Javier Milei, and with representatives of the large Spanish companies of the Ibex 35.
The Swiss town of Davos will host, from today until Friday, the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, which will bring together, under the motto Rebuilding trust, more than one hundred governments, the main international organizations, a thousand partners of the Forum and to civil society leaders, experts, young people, social entrepreneurs and the media, as reported by the organization on its website.
The debates in Davos will focus on four key themes: achieving security and cooperation “in a fractured world”, creating growth and jobs “for a new era”, Artificial Intelligence (AI) “as a driver of the economy and society” and “a long-term strategy for climate, nature and energy.”
According to the agenda, Pedro Sánchez will speak on the first of the topics, “Achieving security and cooperation in a fractured world”, in which the ways to “make effectively confront security crises, such as the current situation in the Middle East, while at the same time grounding the structural forces of fragmentation. This panel will also address “the areas in which cooperation is essential to ensure a win-win scenario for all stakeholders” and how to “improve existing initiatives and mechanisms to drive global collaboration,” as forum reported.
Specifically, Pedro Sánchez’s intervention will take place on January 17 at 4:45 p.m. (local and Spanish time), will last half an hour and will be moderated by Børge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum. The President of the Government will be accompanied in Davos by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and the Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Service, José Luis Escrivá. Also at the Forum will be the, until recently, Vice President of Economy in the Sánchez Government, Nadia Calviño, who will practically debut as the new president of the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Other prominent world leaders will also participate in this same panel, over four days and each one separately, such as the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres; NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg; the president of France, Emmanuel Macron; the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang; the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte; the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro; the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis; the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock; the Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud; and the aforementioned Volodimir Zelenski and Javier Milei.
Therefore, Sánchez will meet Milei for the first time since his appointment as president of Argentina. During his speech in the investiture debate, Pedro Sánchez criticized the “delirious reactionary speech” of the then Argentine candidate and wished electoral victory for his rival, Sergio Massa. Furthermore, the President of the Government refrained from congratulating Milei on her victory in the second round of elections. King Felipe VI attended the inauguration of the controversial president of Argentina in December, but there was no representative of the Government at the investiture, except for the then Secretary of State for Latin America, Juan Fernández Trigo.
World leaders and Spanish companies
The United States will be represented at the Davos Forum by its Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. Also present in Davos will be the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva; the president of the World Bank, Ajay S. Banga; the president of the European Central Bank; Christine Lagarde the director general of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the president of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe; and the aforementioned Nadia Calviño, among many other world leaders.
Furthermore, in Davos there will be a broad Spanish business representation, including many of the large companies listed on the Ibex 35. Specifically, according to various media reports, the presence of Ana Botín, president of Banco Santander, is expected; José María Álvarez-Pallete, president and CEO of Telefónica; Ignacio Sánchez Galán, president and CEO of Iberdrola; Carlos Torres, president of BBVA; Josu Jon Imaz, CEO of Repsol; Francisco Reynés, president and CEO of Naturgy; and Rafael del Pino, executive president of Ferrovial, among others.
