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Merkel, Macron to address WEF on Wednesday

January 24, 2018

Day 2 of the annual gathering of the global elite on the peaks of Davos will feature speeches from Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, who are likely to take a starkly different line to Donald Trump, who speaks on Friday.

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Frankreich Emmanuel Macron empfängt Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel in Paris
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/MAXPPP/T. Padilla

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron will both address the World Economic Forum annual meeting on Wednesday, in speeches expected to emphasize the importance of global co-operation and a more sustainable form of globalization.

Widely seen as Europe's two most influential political leaders, Merkel and Macron's speeches come on a European-focused Day 2 of the annual event in Davos, Switzerland, which brings together many of the world's political and economic leaders in one of the richest regions on the planet.

Read more: Globalization: even Davos gets the blues

Merkel is scheduled to speak at 2.20pm (8.30am EST) with Macron's address expected later, around 5.30pm. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and King Felipe of Spain, are also scheduled to feature in a Wednesday schedule that includes several discussions on economic matters within Europe.

Waiting for Trump

With US President Donald Trump due to arrive in the luxurious Alpine town on Thursday, with an address to follow on Friday, the Merkel and Macron speeches are likely to follow a line starkly at odds with Trump's 'America First' economic agenda.

Trump has consistently criticized what he sees as the failings of globalization, focusing on issues around free trade and the US trading relationship with other countries, as well as advocating a harder line on immigration.

Ahead of Trump's arrival in Davos, Gary Cohn, a US national economic advisor, said that Trump was coming to Davos to "reiterate that a prosperous America benefits the world."

"When the United States grows, so does the world," he said.

The official theme of this year's annual gathering is 'Creating a shared future in a fractured world.' The Merkel and Macron speeches will be closely watched by many political and economic observers with this theme in mind.

aos/tr (Reuters, dpa)