The World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2006Sun Feb 5, 2006 16:17
Annual Meeting closes with new initiatives that seize "the creative imperative"
The World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2006 has closed with participants detailing new projects in disaster relief, hunger, anti-corruption, financing for development and public-private partnerships. "I was particularly impressed by this notion of 'I will'," said Founder Klaus Schwab. "That's what the purpose of this meeting is. The Forum will provide platforms for collaborative efforts so the new initiatives or ones that have been enhanced will be implemented," he told participants in Davos.
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Finding balance in the global economy—
While the global economy is growing very strongly, it could be described as "astonishingly unbalanced", said Martin Wolf, Associate Editor, Financial Times. He cited low savings and high consumption in the US, its large current account, and budget deficits as indications of the imbalances.
"Sometime in the next couple of years, an adjustment will come," said Lawrence Summers, President, Harvard University, and Annual Meeting Co-Chair. "It will require rather more policy coordination than we have seen," he commented.
"Global imbalances are deepening and that has serious consequences for developing countries like India," Palaniappan Chidambaram, India’s Minister of Finance, told participants. "The first [potential trigger] is a southward movement of the dollar; the second is an unexpected increase in US interest rates; [and the third] is spiralling energy prices [which] will lead to inflationary expectations," he explained.
John Thain, CEO of New York Stock Exchange, argued that developing countries would attract capital if they have the appropriate policies. He noted that foreign direct investment to Jordan increased sharply after it concluded a free trade agreement with the US.
Reporting on the Japanese economy, Heizo Takenaka, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications and for the Privatization of Postal Services of Japan said the government was pursuing proactive reforms which would unlock an enormous amount of household savings and contribute to stimulating domestic demand.
Session summary
US consumer could be weakest link for 2006—
Annual Meeting 2006
The Creative Imperative
25-29 January, Davos, Switzerland
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Annual Meeting Selected Business Participants
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