The World Economic Forum Davos 2026 opened its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, with leaders from politics, business and civil society in attendance, organisers said. The forum set five themes for the gathering, according to the World Economic Forum.
The World Economic Forum listed featured speakers including Ursula von der Leyen, He Lifeng, Emmanuel Macron, Mark Carney, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Donald Trump. The roster also included Javier Milei, Friedrich Merz, Prabowo Subianto and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, organisers added.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney used his address to warn of a "rupture in world order" and said "geopolitics is submitted to no limits," CBS News reported. He urged middle powers to unite in defence of cooperation, according to media coverage.
President Donald Trump addressed the forum and set out a wide-ranging domestic and foreign policy agenda, according to a full transcript published by Global News. Trump repeatedly raised Greenland, saying the US views the island as strategically linked to North America and asking for a "piece of ice," while he also took part in the Board of Peace announcement, Al Jazeera reported.
The Greenland crisis shaped the backdrop to many sessions, and Greenlandic leader Jens Frederik-Nielsen publicly affirmed ties with Denmark, the BBC reported. Iran's foreign minister had his invitation revoked over a violent domestic crackdown, Times of Israel said, while Israel's prime minister did not attend because of ICC arrest warrants, Jewish News Syndicate reported that Israel sent President Isaac Herzog in his place.
Organisers also noted the agenda included economic growth, investment in people, responsible innovation and planetary prosperity, the World Economic Forum said. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez cancelled his planned trip to Davos to attend the site of a fatal train collision in Spain, CNN reported.
Reactions And Attendance
Organisers said nearly 3,000 high-level participants would attend, with a record near 400 top political leaders and about 850 chief executives among them. Tech executives such as Jensen Huang, Satya Nadella and Demis Hassabis were listed as scheduled participants.
Audience reaction to Trump's marathon remarks grew "restless and uncomfortable," CNN wrote, while media and commentators contrasted his approach with Carney's. Foreign Policy described the meeting as a "tale of two speeches," highlighting divergent tones on cooperation and coercion.
Protests and diplomatic ripples accompanied the forum, with Kurdish demonstrations reported in Davos, The Guardian and Kurdistan24 coverage noted. Australian and Canadian officials and commentators publicly discussed Carney's speech, and some leaders said it was widely shared within governments, The Guardian and The Conversation reported.
