MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Davos 2013 expects less crisis management and a more dynamic vision

Host Klaus Schwab called on delegates to turn the corner on the Euro zone debt woes

The world's political and business elite gather in the snow-covered resort of Davos from Wednesday, aiming to instil some confidence in the global economy amid tentative signs of recovery.

Some 45 world leaders will rub shoulders with around 2,500 lobbyists, journalists, captains of industry and economists in the picture-postcard Swiss ski resort for the five-day annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The 2012 meeting was dominated by the Euro crisis and fears Greece could be forced out of the Euro zone, but this year's gathering is marked by a feeling of cautious optimism the worst may be over.

Opening the meeting, WEF founder and host Klaus Schwab, 74, called on delegates to turn the corner on the Euro zone debt woes that have tipped the region into a recession.

“My hope is that you come out of the meeting with a vision which goes beyond just crisis management as we have seen, a vision that is much more dynamic, not just crisis fighting,” Schwab said in his opening speech.

In a major survey released by financial services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Tuesday on the eve of the meeting's official opening, chief executives said they were marginally more optimistic on the global economy.

Only 28% of CEO said they expected the world economy to decline further in 2013, against 48% last year, while 52% expected it to remain stable.

But only 36% said they were “very confident” in their companies' growth prospects in the next 12 months, down from 40% last year and 48% in 2011.

Among the leaders set to address the forum are German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and Britain's David Cameron.

Other top speakers are European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who will speak on “challenges for the years to come”, and the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde.

However, every year events conspire to hijack the agenda and this year is no different, with the conflict in Mali and the crisis in Syria poised to exercise the minds of the global elite.

Beside the leaders, more than 900 top business executives will attend, with this year's forum co-chaired by the CEO of Coca-Cola, Embraer, UBS, Dow Chemical and the head of anti-graft watchdog Transparency International.

Organisers have chosen the theme “resilient dynamism”, reflecting the need for an improvement in the structure of the global economy to resist sudden emergencies like the Euro zone debt crisis.

Despite the presence of so many world leaders, no formal decisions are taken at Davos, although corporate deals are often sewn up on the sidelines and presidents and prime ministers huddle in small gatherings to thrash out pressing issues.