Several United States lawmakers quietly attended the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Annual Meeting 2023 on Monday to meet with various influential business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.
The American officials who took part in the event include Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Chris Coons of Delaware, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. There were also a few members of the House of Representatives who went to the event. Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was among those who attended the meeting.
World Economic Forum
The four aforementioned American lawmakers are among the U.S.-based officials who are set to participate in panel sessions during this year's conference. These types of private events held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum often serve as meet-and-greets between CEOs, billionaires, and government officials.
Particularly, Coons and Manchin separately addressed the audience of corporate leaders at the lunch, one attendee said, who opted to remain anonymous because they were speaking about a private gathering, as per CNBC.
Coons spoke at the event and discussed U.S. aid being supplied to Ukraine following Russia's invasion. Manchin, on the other hand, holding his position as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called for American energy independence amid Russia's monopoly-style control of the global market.
The private lunch was held at the Hotel Schatzalp which is primarily accessible by riding on a funicular, or tram, up the property. A person who attended the event said that it happened at the establishment's Belle Epoque restaurant, where participants were served salmon and a beef dish.
The business leaders who participated in the event came from a wide variety of backgrounds and include Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Antonio Neri, the executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, and leaders of a variety of non-governmental organizations.
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Addressing Global Issues
The forum was first established by Schwab, a German economist, in 1971 and was originally known as the European Management Forum prior to its name change in 1987. The theme for this year's discussions is "Cooperation in a Fragmented World," according to Aljazeera.
Among leaders of the G7 nations, only German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attended the event. A spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday that the leader would not be able to make the event because there was an ongoing energy crisis in the country.
Schwab's objective in founding the World Economic Forum was to create a place for policymakers and top corporate executives to address major global issues and learn best practices for leadership and management.
While delegates attend panels and speeches inside the Congress Center, much of the action happens outside, where bilateral meetings between heads of state and corporate chieftains occur that take up most of their time.
The event was also attended by the presidents of Poland, Spain, South Korea, and the Philippines, who were among the 51 heads of state who came. There were also 56 finance ministers, 19 central bank governors, 35 foreign ministers, and 30 trade ministers who were present at the event, said Rappler.
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