WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM – ANNUAL MEETING

DAVOS, SWITERLAND

JANUARY 2009

1.       BACKGROUND

Heads of State and Government including prominent international business leaders from around the world will gather in Davos, Switzerland for the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from 28 January – 01 February 2009.  The theme and structure of the meeting will be focused on “Shaping the Post-Crisis World”.

·         WEF is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world and provides an unrivalled platform for leaders from all walks of life to shape the global agenda and to catalyse solutions at the start of each year.

·         WEF engages political, business and social sector leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. South Africa has participated in the WEF for a number of years, in pursuit of solutions to issues facing not just the country itself but the world at large.

·         The South African Government and leadership from a range of sectors value the opportunity presented by the Annual Meeting for the germination and development of innovative, cutting-edge solutions and approaches to issues affecting all  world regions.

·         Furthermore, the Meeting creates an opportunity for South Africa to present the growing range of developments and opportunities within the country that are of interest to the international investor community, and to contextualise issues that may be generating concern internationally.

·         In view of South Africa’s commitment to advancing the African Agenda, promoting South-South cooperation and securing greater equity within the international system,  the WEF Annual Meeting also creates an opportunity for  South African leadership to promote these interests.

§         South Africa therefore welcomes the Meeting’s focus on the international financial crisis, based on the belief that the crisis demands a global response. Government believes this response must address the immediate dangers posed by financial collapse and global recession.

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But this response  must also be seen in the context of  opportunity for a more democratic system of global economic and financial governance. It is only on the basis of a new economic multilateralism which is both legitimate and effective that we can secure the conditions for the sustainable, inclusive and balanced global growth.

·         Emerging markets and developing countries are badly affected by the crisis through both financial contagion from the advanced economies, and the looming threat of global recession.

·         The crisis did not originate within emerging markets and does not reflect any weakness in their economic fundamentals or policy frameworks, which have improved markedly in recent years.

·         However, capital flight, violent exchange rate movements, the liquidation of value on equity markets and the drying up of access to credit threaten to choke-off the investment and finance that is so vital to sustaining growth and turning back the tide of poverty.