We circled over Zurich airport for half an hour because there were blizzard conditions below and the plane couldn’t land. Davos hadn’t had hardly any snow this winter, so somehow we must have managed to bring it with us. When we finally landed and came off the plane onto the air bridge, the cold bit through our coats straight to our bones. For someone used to the 50 degree Celsius summers in Jeddah, this sub zero weather was painful. Leaving the warmth of the airport to take a taxi to Davos was not something to be anticipated with delight. We were shivering by the time we loaded our luggage into the trunk and jumped into the backseat of the taxi.
The roads were deserted. The driver told us it was minus five degrees Celsius. Anyone in his right mind would still be at home in bed. It was six o’clock on a freezing, gray morning and the snow was still coming down. The roads were slick and the taxi drove very slowly. The entire landscape was hidden behind the falling snow. We saw only a vehicle or two, until we came to the first checkpoint. The officers there asked just two questions, took a quick look into the car and waved us forward.
Familiar with the long lines at checkpoints in the Middle East, we had expected tight, ugly security, but we didn’t encounter it on our journey to Davos. There was only one other checkpoint on our way, manned by two people and again they quickly sent us on our way. Arriving in Davos, we found we were in an idyllic Swiss mountain village. Our hotel was small, like all the others in the area, and expensive.
We hurried over to the Congress Hall. I say, hurried, but it was mostly slipping and sliding. The snow still hadn’t stopped and we weren’t the only ones having trouble gaining traction on the icy ground. We saw several people crash to the pavement, one gentleman in particular was limping when he managed to right himself again. Inside the Congress Hall the full magnitude of the conference was clear. Over 2,400 delegates are at the World Economic Forum (WEF). In any other country that would result in a visible security presence with quite restricted movement. In Davos this is not the case. Everyone is hurrying somewhere. Yes, identification must be visible at all times and there is a certain amount of restriction in regards to entrances and exits, but that’s about all.
Journalists are allowed to attend almost all the scheduled sessions and it’s a challenge to decide which sessions are the most important. The sessions are posted publicly and there is always a crowd of people staring at the schedule and trying to determine where they are supposed to be either as participant or observer.
There are two types of people at WEF. Those who are interested in politics and those who are there to discuss issues that affect business. The two have little interest in each other. Even the journalists seem to be specialists in either politics or business. The business-minded people don’t care which politicians have come to Davos and they don’t even know which political issues are to be discussed. They are there for the deals and to network with each other and nothing else matters. The political figures and the journalists covering them seem to be mostly interested in Iran, Iraq and Bush’s State of the Union speech.
India is heavily represented at WEF. We bumped into Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro. We also met Anil Ambani, one of the top Indian businessmen. This is excellent for India. A few Saudi businessmen that we met have suggested that the Saudi delegation should be even more robust. A lot of Saudis need to come here, they said.
One businessman mentioned that since global warming, climate change and energy issues are such hot topics at Davos, and Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil producer, that the Kingdom should have even greater profile at WEF.
The snow is expected to continue in Davos through Thursday night and then on Friday the weather services predict temperatures will drop to minus nineteen. Let’s hope the freezing temperatures keep the business and political leaders huddled together indoors, brainstorming solutions to what ails our world.