
About two months after the Annual Meeting 2017 in Davos, the World Economic Forum Japan and the Embassy of Switzerland invited the Japanese participants to share their Davos highlights. The seminar, attended by representatives of business, politics, finance and academic institutions, began with a speech by Ambassador Jean-François Paroz and opening remarks by Mr. Philipp Rösler, Member of the Managing Board of the World Economic Forum. In the following interactive panel, the key issues of this year’s Annual Meeting were discussed.
The participants stressed the importance of the World Economic Forum for Japan, especially in an environment where protectionism and anti-globalization sentiments are on the rise. Japan is strongly represented at the World Economic Forum: this year, around 100 participants from Japan, including three ministers, attended the Annual Meeting in Davos. The panelists agreed that Japan should strive to continue and, ideally, further strengthen its high-level presence.
The discussion was concluded by remarks from Mr. Yorihiko Kojima, Honorary Chairman of Mitsubishi Corporation and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Japan. The following reception was opened by a toast of Mrs. Sadako Ogata, Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Japan and former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.