The looming presidency of Donald Trump hung over the opening day of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council’s inaugural summit in Dubai.
Few of the 700 or so attendees mentioned the successful American candidate by name, at least in the big set piece events that dominate a WEF event. But the billionaire reality star’s presence was everywhere as a backdrop to the proceedings.
The WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab spoke of the “soul searching and turmoil we went through last week”, before outlining the global “turbulence and uncertainty” the world faces as a result of Mr Trump’s shock election.
He said the global economy would have to face the volatility caused by the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” brought about by technological change combined with low growth and high debts; he also described the challenges caused by the move from a unipolar to a multipolar world, and an “identity crisis on an individual and national level.”
“The fault line in the world today is between those who embrace change and those who reject it. The problem is not globalisation, but global governance”, he added.
The co-chairman of the event, UAE Minister for Cabinet Affairs and the Future, Mohammed Al Gergawi, also spoke of a theme that featured prominently in Mr Trump’s campaign – climate change. “We are nearly past the point of no return. We cannot control the consequences of climate change if no measures are taken now,” he said.
In the relative discretion of the separate briefing sessions the WEF organises for media, the president-elect’s name was heard more often, but most of the futurologists had only a vague notion of what his policies would entail.
Suzanne Johnson, vice chair of the Brookings Institution, said of Mr Trump’s policy towards the Middle East: “If you think about a return on investment, that’s how his mentality works. What will he get back from the Middle East? His position is purely tactical and transactional. If he doesn’t think the US will get anything back from it, maybe he’ll let Russia play a bigger role in the region.”
But the natural optimism of the WEF – motto “committed to improving the state of the world” – shone through on its annual visit to the UAE.
“This country is like a second home to me. It constantly extends the boundaries of what’s possible and a country that is quickly emerging as a leading global hub for the future,” said Mr Schwab.
fkane@thenational.ae
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