Xavier Bettel, Yuriko Backes and H.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duke at the World Economic Forum in Davos

For the eighth time, the Prime Minister, Minister of State, Xavier Bettel, attended the World Economic Forum (#WEF23) in Davos, Switzerland. During his trip, the Prime Minister was accompanied by the Minister of Finance, Yuriko Backes and H.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duke.

The theme of this year's Forum was "Cooperation in a Fragmented World". The Prime Minister had the opportunity to meet with many political and business leaders and discuss current political, economic, environmental and social issues.

The Prime Minister met with Chuck Robbins, President and CEO of Cisco, Dan Schulman, President and CEO of Paypal, Francesco Ceccato, CEO of Barclays Bank Ireland PLC, Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, Colm Kelleher, Chairman of UBS AG, Susan Pointer, Vice President, International Public Policy and Government Affairs, Amazon, Adaire Fox-Martin, President, Google Cloud International, Runa Khan, Founder, Friendship, Nick Clegg, President, Global Business, Meta Platforms Inc, Roy Gori, President and CEO Manu Life, Thomas Buberl, CEO Axa SA, Onur Genç, CEO, BBVA SA, Anne Richards, Fidelity International, Lakshmi N. Mittal, Executive Director and Aditya Mittal, CEO, Arcelor Mittal Limited, Jared Cohen, President, Global Business, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Jane Fraser, CEO, Citi.

Xavier Bettel also had the opportunity to exchange views with international political figures such as Najla Bouden, Prime Minister of Tunisia, Maia Sandu, President of Moldova, Eknath Sambhaji Shinde, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, India, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Leader of Belarusian democratic forces, Alain Berset, President of the Swiss Confederation and Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine.

Discussions focused on the various challenges facing the world today, including Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and its economic consequences, the climate and environmental crises, and the need for concerted and multilateral cooperation to address all these challenges. Advances in new and digital technologies were also high on the agenda of the 2023 World Economic Forum.

Yuriko Backes also met the new Swiss Federal Councillor for Finance, Karin Keller-Sutter, during her time in Davos. During the bilateral meeting, the ministers discussed the reform of international corporate taxation, the global macroeconomic situation and economic and financial relations between the two countries.

Press release by the Ministry of State and the Ministry of Finance