Today's Edition
Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali
The World Economic Forum took place this year amidst the most critical geopolitical challenges facing global security and stability in decades. The war in Ukraine is still going on, and the sudden outbreak of military conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas signifies a troubling escalation of tensions and military confrontations in the region.
This is particularly alarming because of the threats to trade routes through the Bab el-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea due to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militias on ships and maritime traffic under the guise of defending the Palestinian people. One of the significant risk factors in the current international strategic environment is the sharp divisions among major global powers.
These divisions undermine the ability of international organisations entrusted with maintaining global security and stability, defusing tensions, and reaching agreements on resolving current crises. This makes it difficult to envision a positive outlook for the international system to emerge from its current state of chaos it is going through. Amid these circumstances, the discussions at Davos were a reflection of global events. World leaders, business figures, and representatives of civil societies gathered to exchange ideas and raise awareness about global challenges, hoping to find ways to resolve them.
In the 54th annual meeting, geopolitical crises took centre stage, along with economic challenges, climate change, and artificial intelligence. The situation in the Middle East overshadowed the Davos discussions because of the intensifying humanitarian crisis resulting from the war in Gaza.
There was widespread global concern regarding the ongoing conflict and its impact on regional stability and the global economy. Calls were made for urgent humanitarian assistance and finding a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to establish peace in the region. With the ongoing war in Ukraine and its impacts on the global economy, particularly in terms of food and energy security, and the disruption in supply chains, there is a growing global fear that the war’s effect on global economic growth may continue.
For this reason, calls were made for a swift end to the war in Ukraine as well as support for diplomatic efforts and a peaceful resolution. Since the economy is the victim of wars and conflicts, fears have risen of a slowdown of global economic growth, rising living costs and interest rates in the world, an increase in global poverty and stagnation, the possibility that rising geopolitical tensions in the world would hamper global economic recovery, a slowdown of China’s growth, and dire economic forecasts for developing countries, particularly those in Africa and Asia.
The summit’s discussions also addressed climate change, the need for the world to take urgent action to confront the climate crisis, and building on the major accomplishments of COP28.
The field of artificial intelligence (AI) was a major focus of the summit due to the exponential increase in AI applications, especially concerning the ethical and social threats posed by AI-driven misinformation and disinformation. There are fears of trouble as a result of false information generated by these technologies, and there is great hope that a suitable format for the governance of this developing field will be found.
Given the firm belief held by TRENDS Research and Advisory in the value of dialogue and the exchange of international expertise, its participation in Davos was extremely important. TRENDS discussed scientific visions with business leaders, governments, and civil society and made valuable contributions with its papers that deal with current global challenges and international crises.
This participation is a demonstration of TRENDS’ mission and research goals based on their strong contribution to achieving world peace. Thus, during its participation, TRENDS focused on the importance of achieving peace in the Middle East, underlined the role of peace in achieving Sustainable Development Goals and economic growth, and reminded the world of the heavy losses of conflicts and wars.
Participation in global dialogue, both through Davos and other platforms of international dialogue and engagement, contributes to building contact channels to enhance international cooperation, thus contributing to overcoming crises that face the region and the world.
*The writer is the CEO of TRENDS Research and Advisory
