Davos meeting of minds aims to set world to rights

FIFTEEN heads of state, hundreds of top business leaders and celebrities including the actress Angelina Jolie will gather in the exclusive Alpine resort of Davos from today to discuss key issues facing the world.

They include Iran's nuclear programme, high oil prices and the shifting balance of power in Asia.

The four-day World Economic Forum that began in the 1970s as a place to discuss new management techniques has evolved into an eclectic mix of highbrow futurology, ethical debate and a fair bit of schmoozing.

World leaders attending Davos this year include Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, and Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general.

One of the top themes of the forum will be the emergence of China and India as true global powerhouses economically, politically and - to the concern of many - militarily.

"It's one of the five key pillars of the programme that everyone is talking about," said Mark Adams, the forum's spokesman. "We're going beyond the stage of talking about their potential, but looking at them in geopolitical terms."

Though the forum falls on the Chinese lunar new year, several officials from the country are making the visit to Davos, including Zeng Peiyan, the vice-premier.

The main theme of the event is "The Creative Imperative" - a topic chosen because of its ability to influence business, politics, reform and more, said Klaus Schwab, who founded the forum in 1971.

More than 2,340 participants from 89 countries are attending, including 735 who are either chairmen or chief executives of companies, the highest figure of corporate leaders yet, said Mr Adams. They include Craig Barrett, the chairman of Intel, and Lakshmi Mittal, the chairman of the world's largest steel company, Mittal Steel.

A new theme this year will be the role of sport in promoting economic growth and fostering ties between countries. Among those scheduled to attend to discuss sport are Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president, and Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee.

The meeting will also feature celebrities who have come to tout personal causes,

including U2 singer and debt-relief advocate Bono and Angelina Jolie in her role as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations.

Security for the meeting is again a concern. Activists staged protests against the forum in cities across Switzerland at the weekend, including a paint-bomb attack on the national bank in Zurich.