JOBS top priority at World Economic Forum

Ending its conference this weekend in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, business leaders at the World Economic Forum concluded that the international community should focus on promoting growth and creating jobs, particularly for youth. The annual meeting's theme was The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models.

“Jobs should be our number one priority,” declared Annual Meeting Co-Chair Vikram Pandit, Chief Executive Officer of Citi, in a session on the global agenda for 2012. Added fellow Co-Chair Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever: “It is unacceptable that 200 million people cannot enter the workplace.”

To drive the new growth needed for full recovery from the recent global recession, governments have to provide the right environment, policies and leadership. “We believe that government should set up industry and other sectors for success,” said Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, who also served as a Meeting Co-Chair.

For Alejandro Ramirez, Chief Executive Officer of Cinepolis, the chief concern must be the widening wealth gap. “We need to reduce the income inequality we are seeing everywhere in the world that is increasing the backlash.”

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, Chairman of the Yunus Centre, said that what the world needs today is visionary leadership. “We need to spend a lot more time ‘visioning’. Unless we have a vision, we are lost.”

World leaders weigh in
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for “more Europe”, with structural reforms, belt-tightening and greater labour market mobility necessary to underpin revival. Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, cautioned that Europe’s banking sector is entering a critical phase, with €230 billion of bonds due in the near future, even though assertive action by the ECB and Europe’s banks had so far been successful in averting another credit crunch.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda nevertheless offered his support, saying that: “Japan stands ready to support the Eurozone as much as possible.” Noda also mentioned that Japan is working with South Korea and India to try to prevent the sovereign debt contagion spreading to Asia.

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said: “No country is immune and everybody has an interest in making sure that this crisis is resolved adequately.” Timothy Geithner, US Secretary of the Treasury, agreed with the consensus forecast that the United States economy would grow between 2-3% this year, but warned that it could be set back by a prolonged crisis in the Eurozone.

In another extraordinary act of philanthropy, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced an extra US$ 750 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. “These are tough economic times, but that is no excuse for cutting aid to the world’s poorest,” said Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Gates Foundation. In a session on food security, Gates argued that he is “optimistic” about the daunting challenge of doubling food production by 2050 to feed a population forecast to hit 9 billion.

The World Economic Forum also launched a new initiative during the Annual Meeting to improve global resilience to major cyberrisks. “Partnering for Cyber Resilience” is a set of shared principles, signed and endorsed by chief executives of companies who recognize the interdependence of all organizations in combating cyberrisks and their role in contributing to a safer digital environment.

Other major issues addressed at the conference included Tunisia's new constitution, more trade instead of aid for Haiti, democratization of Myanmar, progress towards a common market in Africa, ensuring clean/sustainable energy supplies, and creation of a national women’s development fund to protect human rights and deliver improvements in education and healthcare for women.