Arab world issues remain in focus
The side meetings in Davos are always a treat because this is when people gather to follow their particular interest. There has been so little on the Arab world in the main programme that I was delighted when Khalid Abdullah Janahi invited me to his ‘working dinner’ on what to do to rekindle hope in the Arab world. Khalid is the head of Ithmaar Bank (formerly Faysal Investment Bank of Bahrain), and has been a partner at the World Economic Forum for more than 20 years.
The evening started with Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini making an interesting comparison of the divided state of the Arab world with that of divided Europe in 1975 when the Helsinki Accord was signed between 35 Communist and democratic countries, with extraordinary consequences. Today it is hard to remember how entrenched the division was, but then it seemed likely to go on forever. The core of the deal was that the West agreed to recognise all European borders and agreed they could only be changed peacefully, and the communists agreed to the principle that human rights should be respected independently of their ruling parties. The rest was history as brave individuals all over the Communist Bloc used the Helsinki Accord to start civil action that in time transformed the continent.
The obvious comparison with the state of the Arab world and Israel was picked up by other speakers during an active debate, in particular the new Foreign Minister of Jordan who was only two days into his job. Ayman Safadi added two important points to Soini’s introduction. First, any threat to the mixed Muslim, Christian and Jewish nature of Occupied Jerusalem is a threat that all Arabs will respond to. Second, the conflict in Syria is a disaster as Jordan’s 6 million people now host 1.3 million Syrian refugees. What was very moving was how Safadi insisted that Jordan’s priority in this crisis was to provide housing, schools and some sense of community so that the young Syrians growing up in this mess do not start their lives feeling alienated and furious. He put this task firmly into the context of winning the cultural battle against Daesh as Jordan needs help to build schools, hospitals and common spaces for its unexpected long-term guests.
A change of pace occurred later as I made my way up the funicular railway to the extraordinary Schatzalp Hotel on the ridge high above Davos village. Built in Art Nouveau style, this is where Thomas Mann wrote his masterpiece The Magic Mountain, inspired by the place and the extraordinary views up the valley to the snow-covered peaks of the Alps. It functioned as a sanatorium for much of the 20th century, but is now a hotel with a huge assembly rooms drenched in sunlight, and a very large veranda overlooking the valley.
This was where the World Economic Forum often holds its farewell breakfast on the final morning before everyone heads for the railway station.
It was several years ago on this veranda at an earlier Annual Meeting that I struck up my very modest acquaintance with Christine Lagarde when she was Nicolas Sarkozy’s Minister of Finance. We were the only two at an ice-mound acting as a table, and neither of us wanted to lose this valuable position. So I went for croissants, and then she went to get the coffees, and we chatted about this and that — France and the UAE — their differences, etc. Not the Earth-shattering scoop that I should have been looking for, but ever since then and thanks to her natural good manners I have always had a soft spot for her.