<div class="voa-content">This year&#8217;s World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland, has notable absentees &#8211; including U.S. President Donald Trump. With a backlash against a perceived ruling elite gaining ground in many countries, some leaders are steering clear of a gathering often seen as an inaccessible club for the world&#8217;s super-rich. But defenders of the annual meeting say it is a vital venue to exchange ideas and discuss urgent issues like climate change, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/deserting-davos-leaders-stay-home-amid-domestic-troubles-anti-globalist-backlash/4757471.html">reports</a> VOA News.</div>

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Deserting Davos: Leaders Stay Home Amid Domestic Troubles, Anti-Globalist Backlash

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The United Nations is forecasting that the global economy will grow by around 3 percent in 2019 and 2020, but says waning support for multilateralism, escalating trade disputes, increasing debt and rising climate risks are clouding prospects, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/un-forecasts-global-economic-growth-around-3-percent-in-2019/4752697.html">reports</a> VOA News.
The United Nations is forecasting that the global economy will grow by around 3 percent in 2019 and 2020, but says waning support for multilateralism, escalating trade disputes, increasing debt and rising climate risks are clouding prospects.
The U.N.&#8217;s report on the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 also stresses that economic growth is uneven and often doesn&#8217;t reach countries that need it most.
Per capital income is expected to stagnate or see only marginal growth this year in parts of Africa, western Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says in the forward of the report launched Monday that while economic indicators remain largely favorable, the report raises concerns over the sustainability of global economic growth in the face of rising financial, social and environmental challenges.
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UN Forecasts Global Economic Growth Around 3 Percent in 2019

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The founder of the World Economic Forum says U.S. President Donald Trump would have been an &#8220;interesting discussion partner&#8221; at its annual Davos event starting this week, but acknowledges that the partial U.S. government shutdown scuttled those plans, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/with-trump-out-davos-chief-eyes-fixing-world-architecture/4750889.html">reports</a> VOA News.
Klaus Schwab says he saw Trump shortly before Christmas and heard he had been &#8220;very much looking forward to coming back.&#8221; Last year, Trump was a highlight attendee at the elite gathering in the Swiss Alps, where he dined with business executives and met foreign leaders.
Trump canceled the U.S. delegation&#8217;s trip to Davos this year amid the partial government shutdown.
&#8220;He would have been an interesting discussion partner,&#8221; Schwab said. &#8220;But of course, we have understanding: We see government stand still.&#8221;
Now, the WEF chief is focusing on reshaping the &#8220;global architecture&#8221; that has split populists and globalists and left many people feeling left out. That could be a tall order as trade forecasts predict slowdown and economic growth has eased, in part after Trump tax cuts doped-up the economy and markets last year.
&#8220;I&#8217;m concerned because we are walking on very thin ice,&#8221; Schwab said in an interview at the Davos conference center. &#8220;We are the back-end of a very strong, long positive economic cycle &#8211; maybe boosted by tax relief in the United States.&#8221;
Schwab, who believes the world is going through a &#8220;Fourth Industrial Revolution&#8221; involving rapid technological change, says too many are being left behind. He wants to see more &#8220;equilibrium&#8221; between national or individual needs and imperatives facing the world.
&#8220;We are living in an interdependent, global humanity and there are global challenges like the environment, like terrorism, like mega-migration for which we have to find common solutions,&#8221; he said.
The forum released Sunday a poll in which more than three-fourths of respondents said it was &#8220;important&#8221; or &#8220;very important&#8221; for countries to work together toward a common goal &#8211; a feeling that was strongest in places like South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa. Smaller majorities in Europe and North America felt the same way.
The poll of more than 10,000 people across 29 countries, considered to be a representative sample of various economic levels and continents, was conducted through online from Jan. 4-17.
WEF said the survey results pointed to a &#8220;rejection of populism.&#8221;
But Schwab said leaders need to do a better job of addressing people&#8217;s problems.
&#8220;We have really a gap in terms of shaping the future,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So, it&#8217;s not astonishing that people lose hope because if you don&#8217;t know how your future looks particularly at times of rapid change, then you become really egocentric, you revert to a bunker mentality &#8211; and that&#8217;s reflected not only on the political and national level.&#8221;
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With Trump Out, Davos Chief Eyes Fixing World Architecture

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International tensions and nationalist politics can further weigh on the global economy this year and hinder efforts to deal with big issues such as climate change, the organizers of next week&#8217;s Davos forum warned Wednesday, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/world-economic-forum-warns-of-impact-of-global-tensions/4745733.html">reports</a> VOA News.
In its annual Global Risks Report, the World Economic Forum said the world is evolving into &#8220;a period of divergence following a period of globalization.&#8221; A &#8220;darkening&#8221; economic outlook, in part fostered by geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, &#8220;looks set to further reduce the potential for international cooperation in 2019,&#8221; it said.
&#8220;With global trade and economic growth at risk in 2019, there is a more urgent need than ever to renew the architecture of international cooperation,&#8221; said Borge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum, which hosts an annual gathering of business and political leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
&#8220;We simply do not have the gunpowder to deal with the kind of slowdown that current dynamics might lead us towards,&#8221; he added.
In 2018, the global economy slowed more than most experts had predicted and stock markets posted their worst year in a decade. Much of that has been blamed on the standoff between the U.S. and China over trade that has led to both sides imposing tariffs on hundreds of billions worth of goods.
The report, which is based on the views of around 1,000 experts and decision-makers from around the world, found that 88 percent of respondents expect a &#8220;further erosion&#8221; of global trading rules and agreements that will hold back growth.
The U.S.-China relations will be one of the main talking points at next week&#8217;s gathering in Davos, with a number of high level representatives from each side due to attend, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and China&#8217;s vice president, Wang Qishan. Britain&#8217;s upcoming exit from the European Union will be another key issue after British lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected the Brexit deal Prime Minister Theresa May had negotiated with the EU.
The 2016 vote to leave the EU had been driven in large part by a belief that Brexit would restore decision-making powers to Britain. U.S. President Donald Trump has used similar justifications to employ his America First&#8221; policies on a range of international issues, such as climate change.
One area identified as being affected by the more fractured geopolitical environment is the need to modernize critical infrastructure projects around the world, such as roads, bridges and power networks, firstly and foremost to avoid accidents such as the collapse of a bridge in Genoa, Italy, last summer that killed 43 people.
John Drzik, President of Global Risk and Digital at Marsh, which helped with the preparation of the report, said the &#8220;more protectionist economic environment&#8221; is increasing costs and causing delays. The introduction of steel tariffs by the United States, he noted, raised the costs of an infrastructure project in Detroit by approximately 13 percent.
&#8220;Persistent underfunding of critical infrastructure worldwide is hampering economic progress, leaving businesses and communities more vulnerable both to cyberattacks and natural catastrophes, and failing to make the most of technological innovation,&#8221; he said.
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World Economic Forum Warns of Impact of Global Tensions

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More than 3,200 government, business, academics and civil society leaders will address issues of globalization, climate change and other matters of world importance next week at the annual World Economic Forum in the plush Swiss Alpine village of Davos, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/globalization-climate-change-top-agenda-of-world-economic-forum/4744219.html">VOA</a> reports.
The list of participants reads like the Whos Who of the most powerful, successful and inventive movers and shakers in the world. They will be rubbing shoulders during hundreds of formal sessions and workshops, as well as in private bilaterals on the sidelines of the meeting. They will discuss and seek solutions to some of humanitys most vexing problems.
The theme of this years gathering is Globalization &#8220;4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. That refers to the emerging technology breakthroughs in such fields as artificial intelligence and robotics.
Founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab says this fourth wave of globalization needs to be human-centered. He says globalization in its present form is not sustainable. He says globalization must be made more inclusive.
Globalization produced winners and losers, and so there were many more winners in the last 24, 25, 30 years. But now we have to look after the losers — after those who have been left behind&#8230;what we need is a moralization, or re-moralization, of globalization, he said.
The program is very wide-ranging. For example, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will discuss the state of the world. He will broach issues like climate change, fighting poverty and sustainable development. There will be special sessions by others about ways to make economic growth more inclusive, on rethinking world trade, as well as many scientific, artistic and cultural meetings.
Leaders from all regions of the world will attend. The Middle East will be represented by the presidents of Libya and Iraq. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be there. So will Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.
Six or seven presidents from Africa will be in attendance. And organizers of the forum say there is great interest in an appearance by the new Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, who has established peace with Eritrea during his first six months in office.
The forum president, Borge Brende, says a strong United States delegation will attend next weeks event, although President Donald Trump canceled his participation.
We fully understand that, of course, President Trump will have to stay in D.C. as long as the government is facing this shutdown. We are very pleased, though, that the U.S. will be participating with key secretaries, he said.
Brende confirms that among those coming will be Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, fresh from his travels in the Middle East, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.
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Globalization, Climate Change Top Agenda of World Economic Forum

President Donald Trump on Thursday cancelled a planned trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this month, <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2019/01/10/trump-cancels-very-important-trip-to-world-economic-forum-in-davos">Euronews</a> reports.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Because of the Democrats intransigence on Border Security and the great importance of Safety for our Nation, I am respectfully cancelling my very important trip to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. My warmest regards and apologies to the <a href="https://twitter.com/wef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WEF</a>!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1083426878336036865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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He cited border security as the reason only hours after attributing a possible cancellation to the government shutdown.

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Trump cancels ‘very important’ trip to World Economic Forum in Davos

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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that no delegation would go to the Davos World Economic Forum in January if top tycoons including Oleg Deripaska were kept out of the prestigious gathering,<a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/medvedev-says-russia-will-boycott-davos-if-oligarchs-kept-out/4656431.html"> сообщает VOA News.</a>
Several Russian oligarchs and allies of President Vladimir Putin have reportedly been asked to stay away from the World Economic Forum meet.
&#8220;If all these decisions that have been taken in relation to Russian business representatives are not changed, then we will have to take a decision regarding the cancellation of participation in the Davos forum of state employees and Russian companies where the state has a stake,&#8221; Medvedev said.
&#8220;Then no one would go there,&#8221; he said in televised remarks. &#8220;Let&#8217;s wait and see.&#8221;
Speaking on the sidelines of Italian-sponsored Libya crisis talks in Palermo, the Russian prime minister described the decision as &#8220;very strange&#8221;.
Medvedev said he had discussed the situation with Swiss President Alain Berset, who he said had promised to look into the issue.
&#8220;He said he would make inquiries,&#8221; Medvedev added.
The Financial Times reported last week that billionaires Deripaska, Viktor Vekselberg and Andrei Kostin, the head of Russian state bank VTB, had essentially been barred from attending the prestigious gathering in January.
The decision was made under pressure from Washington, the FT said, citing sources familiar with the situation.
VTB confirmed at the time that Kostin &#8220;had a conversation with Mr. Schwab,&#8221; referring to Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum.
The tycoons were hit with U.S. sanctions earlier this year as Washington seeks to punish Russia for alleged international aggression and hit those close to Putin.
The trio are believed to be close to Putin and attended the forum in the past.
Deripaska was particularly famous for throwing wild parties in Davos, with vodka, caviar and dancing Cossacks on offer.
The Kremlin has said the Davos forum would be &#8220;rejecting its roots&#8221; if it blacklisted the Russian billionaires.
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Medvedev: Russia Will Boycott Davos if Oligarchs Kept Out