DAVOS Trade talks, climate change, Middle East set to dominate WEF UPDATE

DAVOS Trade talks, climate change, Middle East set to dominate WEF UPDATE

	Published : Wed, 24 Jan 2007 13:48 By : Agencies Print this Story

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DAVOS, Switzerland (AFX) - Progress in stalled world trade talks will be among the issues at the top of the agenda of this year's World Economic Forum, its founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab said today.

Schwab said negotiations to revive the Doha round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) discussions would 'play a role' in the annual four-day gathering of financial and political leaders in Davos, alongside climate change, globalisation and the situation in the Middle East.

Doha is aimed at reducing tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to global commerce in order to boost development in the world's poorest countries.

Agricultural subsidies and market access are key sticking points in the trade talks, which have foundered badly since their launch in the Qatari capital in November 2001.

The WTO suspended the process last July after negotiators from six major partners, including the US, EU, Brazil and India, failed to reach agreement after a five-year effort.

WTO chief Pascal Lamy is due to host a meeting of about 30 trade ministers on the sidelines of the forum this weekend to try to kick-start the discussions.

Schwab stressed the forum was 'not pushing any specific issues, not even the outcome of these great (trade) negotiations', and was there purely 'to provide a platform' for discussion.

'I hope they (WTO members) will use this platform in a responsible way,' he told an opening press conference at the event in the Swiss mountain resort this morning.

More than 800 chief executives or chairmen from 1,000 of the world's biggest companies -- the highest since the event was launched in 1971 -- and 24 heads of state or government and 85 cabinet ministers are among the 2,400 participants at this year's summit.

High profile attendees from the business world will include Microsoft boss Bill Gates, Arcelor Mittal chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal and BP chief executive Lord Browne, while political figures will include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US senators John McCain and John Kerry and British premier Tony Blair -- the latter likely to be making his final appearance at Davos in his current role.

The theme of this year's meeting, The Shifting Power Equation, takes in everything from the growing geopolitical clout of countries like India, China and Brazil, to the increasing influence of web logs on the traditional media.

The theme of power transition was party reflected in the absence of big name US officials, while India sent a high-profile 100-member delegation led by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath.

Also on the list was the prime minister of Vietnam, the newest member of the WTO, while the new faces of the corporate world were represented by the co-founders of internet giant Google and the head of the internet video site YouTube.

Another notable 'shift' was the lack of celebrities. With the exception of Davos regular, the rock star Bono, famous names from the world of entertainment were scarce on the ground compared to previous years.

'This year we made the decision that, with the exception of one or two people, we were not inviting any Hollywood celebrities,' said Schwab, citing concerns that show business personalities would 'hijack' the forum and blur the focus on the serious issues under debate.

Chancellor Merkel was to open the meeting later today with a speech highlighting climate change, financial security and the need to revive world trade talks.

'To release the positive forces of globalization, we must reduce global imbalances in public finances and world trade,' Merkel told the WEF website.

'This means following new paths, both in our cooperation with emerging countries such as China, India and Brazil and in enhanced dialogue with Africa on reform and sustainable development,' she said.

Meanwhile, Blair was preparing to raise the issue of climate change and aid to Africa later in the forum's meeting, which is due to end on Sunday.

Blair is due to line up alongside pop icon Bono, South African President Thabo Mbeki, Gates and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to press home a message about 'delivering on the promise of Africa' on Friday.

The mood among company executives in Davos was decisively upbeat, partly due to forecasts of ongoing economic growth in 2007.

Some 92 pct of 1,100 chief executives in 50 countries were confident about their company's revenue growth in 2007, according to an annual survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers released today.

Geopolitical challenges were also high on the agenda in Davos, with Jordan's King Abdullah II, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni due to join discussions tomorrow.

Security was tight around the snow-covered ski resort, although protests by anti-globalisation groups were expected to be minimal, given the ease of controlling access to the isolated venue.

philip.waller@thomson.com

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