The World Economic Forum 2020 started on Tuesday in Davos in Switzerland. Greta Thunberg kicked off the three-day forum in a panel discussion on Sustainable Path towards a Common Future, while Donald Trump was in bullish mood during his special address.
There were the usual array of discussion panels featuring a number of high profile figures from the political, business and civil world, discussing a wide range of subjects including the environment and climate issues, with Iran and Lebanon featuring heavily.
Follow Arab News’ coverage of the opening day below
17:30 - As the opening day winds down, we can start to look ahead toward Wednesday and what's on the agenda. Musician, producer and entrepreneur will.i.am was looking around Davos today ahead of his session on Wednesday. Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan and the UK's Charles, Prince of Wales will be the highlights of tomorrow's special addresses. Plus all the usual panels, sessions and debates we have come to expect from the World Economic Forum. See you tomorrow...
16:45- Missed some of today's big Arab stories from Davos? You can read the highlights in the articles below, or check out Arab News' dedicated spotlight here...
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Former Arab League chief: youth driving Middle East change against bad governments
Arab states work with the world but not with each other, Davos hears
Maryam Forum launched at Davos to promote leadership expertise
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16:00 - Don't forget that Arab News will be covering the World Economic Forum right here at arabnews.com throughout the week's events. Arab News will even have a print presence in Davos as well, beautifully displayed here by our intrepid reporter Frank Kane...
: Grab copy of Arab News at , found in hotels and the conference center throughout the forum
— Arab News (@arabnews)
15:00 - Andrew Liveris, a member of the board of directors of Saudi Aramco, was speaking on a panel about the growth of green energies this afternoon - saying the transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources was essential, but that energy companies had to be allowed to manage their own transitions...
: Saudi 's Liveris - We can do without fossil fuels, its days are numbered. The ecosystem we live in - planet Earth - is being strained. Finance and innovation key to move away from fossil fuels and toward alternatives
— Arab News (@arabnews)
13:45 - Bollywood superstar and mental health ambassador Deepika Padukone has a very honest and inspiring conversation with World Health Organization's director-general about her own experiences with mental illness and how the stigma surrounding it can be ended...
In 2017, Padukone spoke vividly about her struggle with depression and the stigma that surrounded it. She also described how she decided to speak out, so others wouldn't have to suffer in the same way she did. Watch the Crystal Awardee speaking earlier at Davos:
13:00 - Ƶ's Minister for Communications and IT Abdullah Al-Swaha has been speaking on a panel about the strategic outlook for Middle East economies. He makes the salient point that if countries want their economies to grow, they must focus on youth, technology and the empowerment of women...
: ‘There is growing inequality, and that dictates to us to put an agenda where we focus on women, youth and technology, and close down the digital divide and leave nobody behind,’ Minister of Communications & IT in Ƶ
— Arab News (@arabnews)
: "As the largest economy in the region, our base economy from a non-GDP grew by 3%, our digital economy grew by 6%... " Minister of Communications & IT in Ƶ
— Arab News (@arabnews)
: ’s Minister of Communications and IT - Kingdom's digital economy grew by 6% - if you want your economy to grow and prosper, focus on youth, technology and empowerment of women
— Arab News (@arabnews)
11:30 - US President Donald Trump reverted to his role as salesman Tuesday, telling a gathering of the world's top businessmen in the Swiss Alps that he's led a “spectacular” turnaround of the US economy and encouraged them to invest in America.
He reminded the audience that when he spoke here two years ago, early in his presidency, “I told you that we had launched the great American comeback."
“Today I’m proud to declare the United States is in the midst of an economic boom, the likes of which the world has never seen before,” the president said.
Read more of the US President's address at Davos here:Trump lauds US economy in Davos, says little on climate woes
: : We’ve regained our stride, we discovered our spirit and reawakened the powerful machinery of American enterprise
— Arab News (@arabnews)
: : China will spend an additional $200 billion over two years on American services, agriculture, energy and manufactured goods
— Arab News (@arabnews)
11:00 - Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson delivered a special message from Pope Francis. He called on everyone to remember that we are all members of one human family, and that we have a moral obligation to care for one another.
And he asked for a renewed ethical approach in the forthcoming discussions, including in the discipline of economics.
: believes “it is necessary to move beyond short-term technological or economic approaches, and to give full consideration to the ethical dimension in seeking resolutions to a present problem.”
— Arab News (@arabnews)
10:30 - The historian Yuval Noah Harari struck a pessimistic note at the opening of this session on the technology arms race.
"On the most shallow level it could be a repeat of the 19thcentury industrial revolution, when the leaders had the chance to dominate the world economically and politically... I understand the current arms race as an imperial arms race... You don't need to send the soldiers in if you have all the data on a country," says Harari.
10:00 - In one of the first sessions of the WEF, Greta Thunberg said the voices of science and youth need to be at the center of the conversations on environment and future during “Forging a Sustainable Path towards a Common Future” panel discussion.
Read more on her speech here:Thunberg condemns climate inaction as Trump joins Davos
: says the voices of science and youth need to be at the center of the conversations on environment and future because “it is about us”
— Arab News (@arabnews)
