Meeting Highlights

Well, that's it from Davos Agenda Week and your liveblog team. It wasn't quite like a normal Davos, but we've still covered a huge number of sessions, on topics from inequality to climate change and the pandemic.

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How to Save the Planet, Fairer Economies, Tech for Good, Society & Future of Work, Better Business, Healthy Futures and Beyond Geopolitics

Otherwise, until next time, thanks for joining us and see you all soon.

Your liveblog team, in Geneva, London and New York.

From the damaging effects of COVID-19 to mounting geopolitical tensions, the United States faces a number of troubling issues as its new presidential administration gets underway. This Leadership Panel discussed how the country’s foreign policy challenges can be jointly addressed by leaders in the House and Senate.

The panellists included: Ted Deutch, Congressman from Florida (D), 22nd District, United States House of Representatives, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Senator from New York (D), United States Senate, Adam Kinzinger, Congressman from Illinois (R), 16th District, United States House of Representatives, Stephanie Murphy, Congresswoman from Florida (D), 7th District, United States House of Representatives, and Børge Brende, President, World Economic Forum.

The panel was held in the wake of a heated presidential election, and a deterioration of relations with China – and as traditional links with the rest of the world continue to be complicated by the pandemic.

Senator Gillibrand kicked things off by saying she's optimistic that the new administration will make progress with both Russia and China, adding, "we need far more engagement that is productive with both of those countries."

COVID-19 has put a spotlight on the long-standing weaknesses of health systems across the globe. This Leadership Panel examines how government and business leaders can tackle the root causes of healthcare injustice and ensure accessible and affordable healthcare for all.

The speakers:

Mishal Husain, Presenter, BBC News

Ine Eriksen Søreide, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)

Jens Spahn, Federal Minister of Health, Federal Ministry of Health of Germany

Richard Hatchett, Chief Executive Officer, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations (CEPI)

Albert Bourla, Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer Inc.

Dr Tedros started the discussion:

“The pandemic has exposed and exploited the inequalities of our world,” he said.

“There is now the real danger that the very tools that could help to end the pandemic – vaccines – may exacerbate those same inequalities. [...]

"Vaccine nationalism will only prolong the pandemic, the restrictions needed to contain it, and human and economic suffering. [...]

"If we lose trust in international collaboration through vaccine nationalism, we will all pay the price in terms of a protracted recovery.

"We are asking those governments that have already received deliveries of vaccines to vaccinate their health workers and older people, and share excess doses with COVAX so other countries can do the same.

Norway’s Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide also called for global solidarity:

“The only exit strategy from this pandemic is to work together,” she said.

And she said the pandemic was a security concern as well as a health one.

"The potential for a security crisis is absolutely present," she said. When asked where in the world that might happen, she replied that there were countries in Africa where the pandemic could exacerbate humanitarian and political crises.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said countries had to vaccinate their own populations to earn public support for international measures, and that if Germany started sending doses elsewhere in the world while it had only vaccinated 3%of its own people, it would not be accepted by Germans.

“If you want a country like Germany to be engaged as we are [investing in international vaccine programmes …] of course we also need to vaccinate our own people. So it’s about the right balance.”

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said policies in the European Union that could potentially block the export of vaccines, were worrying.

He said political tensions that Minister Spahn had referred to could mean: “decisions that are not sound could be be forced upon politicians”.

Any such trade blockages “could become a lose-lose situation rather than a win for Europe situation,” he added.

“If a [trade] war starts that one will try to ban either the final product or the supplies from free trade I think that could create a problem that is not good for anyone.”

Spahn played down the impact of the European Commission's 'Transparency and authorisation mechanism for exports of COVID-19 vaccines', saying any measures would only be short-lived.

"In general, I agree [with Bourla]. I want to get emotions down and things solved […] we need to find a calm approach."

Bourla said there had been a “small bump: in supply in Europe for a few weeks while the company increased production capacity.

“The quantities promised in the beginning of December we will catch up by March,” he said, adding that supply this year would now increase from a previous estimate of 1.3 billion doses to more than 2 billion.

While lockdowns and demand shocks are undermining recent economic progress, manufacturing companies have a unique opportunity to reinvent themselves and become an engine of economic growth.

What policies, practices and partnerships are needed to transform operating and business models to boost productivity while creating new value for companies, society and the environment?

Vijay Vaitheeswaran, US Business Editor at The Economist is moderating. He is joined by Enrique Lores, President and Chief Executive Officer at HP, Joe Kaeser, President and Chief Executive Officer at Siemens, Nadja Swarovski, Chairperson, Swarovski Foundation; Member of the Executive Board, Swarovski UK, and Martin Lundstedt, President and Chief Executive Officer at Volvo Group.

Vijay Vaitheeswaran kicks off the session, saying that we have had something of an “aha” moment – with dramatic advances in technology, from 3-d printing to connectivity, remote monitoring – "the vanguard of the 4IR".

Is this the lightbulb moment for the factory of the future? But he warns that we should be careful what we wish for. Looking at history, the question is not what technological wizardry is available – but what is the combination of innovation combined with business models that are emerging that will ensure that these inventions lead to the right kind of productivity.

Enrique Lores says there are three key major trends:

"Technologies are going to be fundamental to make the change to redesign our systems to be more resilient and human centred."

Giving a sense of where he sees the dynamism and enthusiasm for the factory of the future and what’s different this time, Joe Kaeser says two thirds of global trade is manufacturing – this sector has a big impact on the world. We have a fundamental change in the way we manufacture, such that machines are talking to each other and they learn from each other. So instead of a central governance – you have a decentralized manufacturing organization. This will determine the biggest things in manufacturing in the next 5 years.

The physical comes together with the virtual world through simulation. This digital twin is going to be optimized through AI and data analytics – and the knowledge will go straight back into the manufacturing process. That is likely to revolutionize the process that you could expect 40-50% productivity increase in manufacturing and bringing new products to market.

Do you think people are ready for this? Kaeser says it is indeed a massive mindset change. People need to let go rather than defend. The incumbents have a lot to lose. The green fielders are easier to convince because they have nothing to lose.

Martin Lundstedt says in the heavy vehicle industry, the good news is that they are already not building platforms that are one-size-fits-all. So it is less of a mindset change.

New tech means more flexibility and less vulnerability – both for the manufacturing environmental footprint and the whole development process. “We have 1.2 million machines that are constantly feeding us with data”. This is used to improve algorithms, “so it’s coming not only from our own manufacturing but also that of our customers”.

“An important lesson is that people love to collect data, but you need to have a plan to make action out of it.”

Nadja Swarovski speaks about the luxury goods industry, where the human and tactile element is important. "This past year, the fashion industry has declined by 30%, but there’s been a 20% increase for the online retail industry."

Within the fashion industry, there is a 360-degree digitalization. There are no seasons – it is more about the consumer being served 360 days a year. It has sparked a different artistic approach in terms of the design of the collections. There is still the integration of the zeitgeist – fashion is a strong reflection of what’s happening in the world.

“Fashion is becoming more purpose driven and more sustainable.” Designers are looking at supply chains and materials – there has been a localization of manufacturing. In New York, for example in the garment district, there are efforts to keep people working on goods like fabric shopping bags.

How about SME’s? Lundstedt says Volvo works with SME’s frequently and they have some visibility on this and they work closely with SME’s to problem solve and share data on the use cases for new technology.

This session is associated with the following projects and initiatives of the World Economic Forum: Global Lighthouse Network, and New Business Models Enabled by Advanced Manufacturing.

The World Trade Organization estimates that global trade fell by 9% in 2020, set against political tensions and as the world responded to COVID-19.

How can the international trade system adapt to possible future disruptions and how can industries and governments work together in 2021 to make the system more resilient?

Elizabeth Truss, Secretary of State for International Trade, Department for International Trade, began by listing the priorities needed.

"The global trading system has been troubled for sometime, it’s vitally important we resist protectionism and promote free and fair trade."

The UK is keen to work with other countries that support the rules-based trading system.

President Joe Biden has today come out with a statement of support for WTO reform and a desire to work multilaterally to solve some of these issues, she said.