The annual meeting of world elites at the Swiss ski resort of Davos opened Wednesday with executives highlighting a power shift from the advanced world to emerging markets as recovery blooms. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived as expected to address the forum, but was forced to cancel most of his Davos appointments after Monday's deadly suicide bomb attack on a Moscow airport erupted into his programme.
Medvedev said in a newspaper interview he would participate in the forum because it was a very important global venue to present Russia's position. "Our task is to promote Russia's opportunities," he told business daily Vedomosti. "We are indeed seeking investments, we want quick recovering growth after the crisis." Medvedev had been expected to lead the country's pitch to investors and speak on a number of topics including Russia's plans to build world-class ski resorts in its troubled North Caucasus region. Under the revised plan however, Medvedev will spend just a few hours in Davos meeting businessmen - and make the opening speech at the forum - before returning to Moscow immediately on Wednesday evening, officials said.
Other high-profile cancellations included media boss Rupert Murdoch and Hollywood star Robert de Niro, who gave no reason for their absence. Ahead of Medvedev's arrival, talk at Davos centred on the power shift from the traditional economic powers of the western world towards emerging giants in Asia and Latin America.
"What is really happening is a slowdown of the western world and the growth of the emerging markets," Azim Premji, chairman of Indian software major Wipro, told the opening panel. "This is a complete shift in the balance of power," the billionaire argued. "In 10 years, the economy of the emerging world will be... equal to or slightly larger than the US economy." China's highest ranking official at the International Monetary Fund, Zhu Min, said global recovery was still being driven predominantly by Asian giants India and China.
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