Davos, Switzerland:

Donald Trump is not stepping foot in Davos this week but the head of the World Economic Forum says the new president has brought renewed interest in the annual gathering of business and political leaders.

“It’s true that everyone here is very interested to understand more what Trump 2.0 is all about,” WEF President Borge Brende told AFP in an interview.

Trump is casting a long shadow over the Swiss Alpine resort, where corporate and political leaders will debate his policies on conflicts, trade, taxes, immigration and climate change, to name a few.

Participants will seek to “connect the dots and decipher” Trump’s intentions, Brende said.

While the WEF had to compete for attention with Trump’s inauguration on Monday, it will get to hear from the man himself via video link on Thursday, with CEOs able to directly ask him questions.

“I think (Trump’s inauguration) has increased the interest in Davos because people feel they need to come together to better understand what’s on its way,” the former Norwegian foreign minister said.

Members of the Trump administration are expected to attend the WEF later in the week, but names have yet to be confirmed.

“We will also have a clear American footprint here in Davos,” Brende said.

US captains of industry are among the many CEOs who flock to Davos every year, but the WEF hopes that it will get a visit one day from the world’s richest man — Trump backer and Tesla chief Elon Musk, who once derided the gathering as “boring”.

“Elon Musk is more than welcome this year and also next year. And next year, maybe he can come with Mr Trump,” Brende said.

World Economic Forum founder steps back

This year’s meeting also comes at a crossroads for the WEF as its 86-year-old German-born founder, Klaus Schwab, stepped back from the executive leadership of the organisation.

Brende took over the executive functions.

“We are now more like a French company where you have a chairperson that is non-executive and then you have a CEO president who is in charge of the executive part of it,” Brende said.

The WEF also last year battled accusations of a “toxic workplace” that were reported by The Wall Street Journal, with allegations of discrimination against women and black people.

“We didn’t feel that that was reflecting the organisation we are at all,” Brende said.

“But we are also a very serious organisation, so we said that no organisation is perfect” and established an independent panel led by the head of French insurer AXA, Thomas Buberl, he said.

Buberl and other businesspeople on the committee are working with law firms “looking into the assertions that were made” and they will “come up with recommendations that we will follow”, Brende said.

“We take it seriously, we didn’t recognise ourselves in that article,” the WEF president said.

“For us, our talent, our people at the forum is the core of the organisation. We want to be a world-class organisation also when it comes to dealing with our people.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Davos/New Delhi:

World Economic Forum (WEF) president and CEO Borge Brende has predicted India’s growth has potential to reach 7-8% with the help of reforms.

At Davos, where the WEF brings together some of the world’s biggest leaders and thinkers, India has had a huge presence every year, and one of the primary themes has been growth.

“India has a great potential, and it is still growing pretty well, 6 per cent this year. But there is no reason why India cannot pick up again and do 7 per cent, 8 per cent, provided that there are reforms on investments, infrastructure, investing in education and R&D [research and development],” Mr Brende told NDTV.

“We do expect that in a few years, India will be 20 per cent of the overall global growth. That is quite incredible. And what works also for India is the enormous strength in startups. There are more than 1,20,000 startups in India. I think there are now more than 120 unicorns. So that ecosystem, I think, is the basis also for future growth,” the WEF president said.

On whether India’s target of becoming a developed nation by 2047 is realistic, Mr Brende said India will be a $10 trillion economy soon, and what also works in the interest of India is that trade is now pivoting more towards digital trade and services.

“That’s growing three times faster than traditional goods. And these are areas where India is very strong,” he said.

To a question by NDTV on some of the key challenges or opportunities that come with greater digitalisation of the workforce, Mr Brende said, “It’s increased productivity. And productivity is like producing more with less resources. And of course, this will challenge some jobs that are back offices today or other jobs. But if that can lead to people moving into areas where you produce higher up in the value chain, you can pay better, you can produce more. And that’s prosperity.”

“So, for India, there are of course huge opportunities when it comes to the new technologies. But short term, it also creates challenges because one has to upskill and reskill people,” the WEF president said.

Climate Agenda

With the world grappling to stick to the 1.5 degree Celsius or below mark, the WEF has integrated climate as a primary driver in its processes.

“It’s [climate] incredibly important. And I think you just came back from Los Angeles. You saw the wildfires. We have seen droughts. We know that agriculture production, production of food is being more challenged now because there are areas where you can’t just grow what you used to grow.

“So in general, I would say that the cost of inaction far exceeds the cost of action when it comes to climate change. So we need to keep up the momentum. We will need to emit less CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the years to come to even be able to stick to a 2 degree target,” Mr Brende told NDTV.

He said the 2 degree target means a lot, especially to countries that are most vulnerable, which happen to be countries that have emitted the least CO2, traditionally being African countries, but also including India that has already seen heat waves and “seen the cost of this”.

The five-day meeting at Davos beginning Monday will explore how to re-launch growth, harness new technologies and strengthen social and economic resilience, according to the World Economic Forum. The global meeting will see participation by nearly 3,000 leaders from over 130 countries, including 350 governmental leaders.

India’s participation at Davos aims to strengthen partnerships, attract investment, and position the country as a global leader in sustainable development and technological innovation. India is sending five Union ministers, three chief ministers, and ministers from several other states to the WEF this time.