NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 28 – Prime Minister Raila Odinga left the country Tuesday night for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The Prime Minister is expected to meet several leaders at the Forum, which began on Wednesday morning, to discuss issues of bilateral interest amid growing economic troubles.
These include British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Chairman of the Conservative Party of the UK David Cameron, the President of JICA, the Danish PM and Minister for Environment, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the President of Microsoft International.
At the Forum, Mr Odinga will also take part in a debate hosted by CNN titled ‘The New US Administration: Can it meet the expectations of the World?’
He will also address a forum on ‘Business Strategies for Sustainable Food Production’ and another on ‘A New Vision for Agriculture.’
Global political leaders and business people are gathering for the annual World Economic Forum, where Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian PM Vladimir Putin are to speak on day one of the summit, themed ‘shaping the post-crisis world’.
But Klaus Schwab, the founder of the Forum, has warned that the crisis is nowhere near over yet. A new poll has shown that business leaders think the recovery will take three years.
Some 2,500 guests, including senior executives from some of the world\’s biggest financial institutions as well as 40 heads of state and government will join discussions on the economic crisis, poverty, energy, climate change and free trade.
While the annual event in the Swiss mountain village of Davos keeps attracting many of the world\’s most powerful people, the mood has changed dramatically.
Some companies have been wiped out by the world\’s continuing financial crisis, while others have been rescued by governments or been nationalised.
As a result participants agree that this year it will not be bankers dominating discussions; instead politicians will set the agenda.
However, they will focus on economic issues as well.
A new survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers suggests that business confidence among top bosses around the world has plummeted in recent months.
