Donald Trump set to dominate Davos 2026 | EUROtoday

The Swiss Alpine city of Davos is as soon as once more welcoming the cream of the political, financial and cultural world for the annual assembly of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The occasion is going down at a time US President Donald Trump is in search of to dismantle the worldwide order: From upending established commerce guidelines and mass withdrawal from worldwide organizations, together with the UN local weather treaty, to capturing Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro following an assault on the capital Caracas and threatening to annex Greenland from shut ally Denmark.

Trump’s assault on the worldwide guidelines which have largely been in place since World War II, and its impression on the worldwide peace, politics and the economic system is predicted to be among the many key matters throughout the five-day occasion starting January 19 underneath the theme A Spirit of Dialogue.

“Dialogue is not a luxury in times of uncertainty; it is an urgent necessity,” stated Borge Brende, WEF President and CEO. “At a critical juncture for international cooperation — marked by profound geoeconomic and technological transformation — this year’s annual meeting will be one of our most consequential.”

Donald Trump shall be joined by greater than 60 heads of state and authorities, together with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Argentinian President Javier Milei, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Syrian chief Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Largest US delegation ever in Davos

Trump is main the most important US delegation ever to Davos, comprising 5 cupboard secretaries and different senior officers.

The delegation consists of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, particular envoy Steve ​Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, setting the stage for high-profile discussions on Ukraine, Venezuela, Gaza and Iran, the place eyewitnesses have reported a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

Trump is predicted to satisfy with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyiv’s G7 allies — together with leaders from Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Canada and the European Commission president — on the sidelines of the primary occasion to hunt US backing for safety ensures for Ukraine after a attainable peace settlement with Russia, the Financial Times reported.

The sturdy US presence can be complemented by the first-ever “USA House” — a venue housed in a small church in town’s predominant Promenade road, the place US officers will host occasions and community with buyers.

Geoeconomic warfare

While geopolitical upheavals and the following uncertainty are anticipated to dominate discussions, policymakers and enterprise leaders can be eager to debate methods to take care of different challenges confronting the worldwide economic system.

The world economic system has been comparatively resilient regardless of heightened commerce tensions and coverage uncertainty, thanks partly to large investments associated to synthetic intelligence (AI) within the US, which have propped up the world’s largest economic system.

But the projected world development of three.1% in 2026 continues to be not ideally suited, particularly at a time when world debt has climbed to ranges not seen since World War II.

The debt state of affairs in a number of African nations is particularly regarding, in keeping with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Global commerce stays underneath stress as nations undertake more and more protectionist insurance policies, akin to imposing unilateral tariffs, rising restrictions on overseas funding and tightening provide on essential minerals.

Economic confrontation between nations and its penalties topped the WEF’s annual Global Risks Report launched on Wednesday.

AI challenges and alternatives

Artificial intelligence is one other focus this yr, with a number of occasions and talks devoted to the frontier know-how, very similar to at current WEF annual conferences. Top tech leaders akin to Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Google’s AI chief Demis Hassabis shall be on the occasion.

AI is already displaying loads of promise in fields akin to drugs and training and has seen trillions of {dollars} price of investments made or promised over the previous few years, despite the fact that many firms are presently struggling to search out real-world use instances for the know-how that supply good worth.

There are considerations concerning the know-how’s impression on jobs, a lot of that are feared to turn out to be redundant within the subsequent few years. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, amongst this yr’s attendees, says that AI may eradicate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within the subsequent one to 5 years, underscoring a necessity for enormous funding in reskilling.

AI dangers worsening the present digital divide, with poorer nations failing to capitalize on the alternatives. There are additionally considerations about AI fashions perpetuating present biases, spreading misinformation, and producing deepfakes.

Misinformation and disinformation and cybersecurity are among the many prime world dangers, in keeping with the WEF dangers survey, underscoring the necessity for efficient laws.

New management at WEF

This yr’s assembly can be the primary with out WEF founder Klaus Schwab on the helm. The German-born economist resigned in April 2025, amid allegations that he and his spouse used WEF funds for private use. An unbiased inquiry, nevertheless, discovered no legal misconduct, solely minor irregularities.

Schwab has been succeeded by interim co-chairs Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, and Andre Hoffmann, vice chair of Swiss prescribed drugs firm Roche Holdings.

This yr’s sturdy line-up of attendees comes as a lift for the group after a tumultuous yr. The group that is been round since 1971 to foster dialogue now faces headwinds as multilateralism wanes and free commerce comes underneath hearth.

Edited by: Uwe Hessler