King arrives in Davos to take part in high-profile forum

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday held separate talks with heads of delegations and representatives of major companies participating in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 45th Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. 

The January 21-24 Davos forum is being held this year under the theme “The New Global Context”.

King Abdullah met with Belgium’s King Philippe and discussed bilateral relations, and ways to develop them in different fields, in addition to the latest developments in the region.

His Majesty met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, where the two leaders addressed bilateral economic relations and enhancing them at all levels, especially the commercial and investment fields, in a way that serves joint interests, a Royal Court statement said. 

The Monarch also briefed Sisi on Jordan’s positions on different regional and international challenges, especially efforts by the international coalition to fight terrorism and extremism.

The meeting also tackled endeavours to achieve peace in the Middle East, with the two leaders stressing the importance for the international community to intensify its efforts in this regard and provide a suitable environment to resume negotiations.

The King also met with President of Panama Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez over ways to develop relations between the two countries in particular, and between the Arab world and Latin America in general.

In another meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, His Majesty discussed ways to enhance economic, investment and commercial relations between Turkey and Jordan through joint economic projects.

The Monarch, in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Rania, held separate meetings with Chairperson of Emaar Properties Mohammad Abbar, Chairman and CEO of Cisco John Chambers, Chairman of Google Eric Schmidt and Chairman and CEO of Renault-Nissan Alliance Carlos Ghosn.

The meetings addressed opportunities for the Kingdom to cooperate with these companies in different fields of interest, with the King noting that Jordan has carved a top niche in the region as an incubator for major international companies. 

King Abdullah also called on the representatives of these companies to increase their investments in the Kingdom and to benefit from the facilities the Jordanian economy provides. 

Participants at the WEF meeting are discussing economic and political issues at regional and international levels.  

Around 40 heads of state and leading global political and economic figures are taking part in the gathering.

On Friday, King Abdullah will take part in a dialogue session, moderated by US media figure Farid Zakarya, which will shed light on regional and international challenges, and ways to deal with them, the Royal Court said.

Jordan has always participated in WEF meetings to promote the Kingdom as a regional investment hub, because the forum draws broad participation by representatives of global economic companies and institutions, according to the statement.