World Economic Forum 2026 Davos Meeting

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 brought together nearly 3,000 leaders from 130 countries in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue.” Against the most complex geopolitical backdrop in decades, the 56th Annual Meeting served as an essential platform for convening decision-makers for consequential dialogue on the world’s most pressing challenges.

The gathering welcomed a record 400 top political leaders, including nearly 65 heads of state and government, with a majority of G7 leaders present. Close to 830 of the world’s top CEOs and chairs participated alongside almost 80 leading unicorns and technology pioneers, exchanging insights on peace, security, technology, growth, investing in people and building prosperity within planetary boundaries.

Cooperation in a Contested World

At a time when geoeconomic confrontation has emerged as the top global risk for 2026, the World Economic Forum provided a crucial platform for dialogue and trust-building. The meeting focused on finding areas of agreement on contested issues and protracted crises that often receive less attention in global discourse.

“This is a moment of uncertainty, but also possibility; not a moment to retreat, but a moment to engage. The World Economic Forum is not about responding to current events. It is about creating the right conditions that enable us to move forward.”
Børge Brende, President and CEO, World Economic Forum

Leaders emphasized that declining trust in institutions and global politics erodes the ability to respond to shared challenges. Despite challenging headwinds, fresh bright spots of regional cooperation continue to emerge, with effective communication and dialogue remaining the only true way to rebuild trust at global, regional and local levels.

“The right approach should be, and can only be, to find solutions together through dialogue and steer economic globalization in the correct direction.”
He Lifeng, Vice-Premier of the People’s Republic of China

Unlocking New Sources of Growth

The Forum’s latest Chief Economists’ Outlook offered insights into global economic sentiment, noting the economy’s relative resilience amid turbulence. AI and the infrastructure that delivers it were core to public and private sector growth plans, with technology leaders outlining rapid advances while discussions focused on widening access across both advanced and developing economies.

Five Nobel laureates in economics presented their latest research on the global economy. Leaders cautioned against deepening fractures in the global trade system, emphasizing the mutual benefits of international trade and cooperation.

“Despite all the uncertainties that we talk about, trade has been largely resilient.”
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization

Investing in People and Skills

The Forum announced major global commitments to its Reskilling Revolution initiative, now on track to reach more than 850 million people worldwide. India launched a new national Skills Accelerator, while leading technology companies pledged to collectively support 20 million workers by 2030 through the Communications and Technology Industry Community Pledge.

A new initiative, SmartStart USA, was launched to prepare 1 million young people for future-ready manufacturing and supply chain jobs by 2035. Leaders emphasized the importance of ensuring education stays relevant for the jobs of the future, including encouraging vocational professions as technology advances.

“AI is a tsunami hitting the labour market and, even in the best prepared countries, I don’t think we are prepared enough.”
Kristalina Georgieva, Managing-Director, International Monetary Fund

Deploying Innovation Responsibly

AI and emerging technologies are fundamentally transforming every industry sector and the global labour market. The Forum announced a new MINDS cohort, highlighting 20 pioneering organizations demonstrating how AI is driving measurable gains in productivity, resilience and competitiveness across industries and society.

The Forum welcomed 23 new industrial sites to its Global Lighthouse Network and launched Lumina, an AI-powered intelligence platform consolidating insights from over 1,000 successful industrial transformations across 32 countries and 35 industries. Five new centres in the United Kingdom, France, the United Arab Emirates and India joined the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network.

“I would advocate for the developing countries: build your infrastructure, get engaged in AI and recognize that AI is likely to close the technology divide.”
Jensen Huang, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Nvidia

Building Prosperity Within Planetary Boundaries

Participants shared optimism on the accelerating growth in renewable energy worldwide, stressing the need for cooperation to maximize the positive impact and scale of these innovations. A coalition of major manufacturers launched a unified pledge to harmonize sustainability data requests and simplify environmental reporting for small and medium-sized enterprise suppliers.

The meeting saw the launch of the Forest Future Alliance, a new initiative dedicated to taking responsible action for forest landscapes. Brazil joined the Forum’s First Movers Coalition as its 15th government partner, while new initiatives were launched to support freshwater and ocean ecosystems ahead of the UN Water Conference and Ocean Impact Summit.