Carl Bildt to attend World Economic Forum in Davos

Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt will travel today, Wednesday, to Davos, Switzerland to attend the 38th World Economic Forum. This year, focus will be on climate threat, and participants will include UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, financier Bill Gates and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Following tradition, politicians, opinion formers and leading businessmen will gather this week in the small town of Davos, situated high up in the Alps, at the World Economic Forum for informal and formal discussions on future global challenges.

Mr Bildt will take part in a series of seminars. One is about the principle of the "Responsibility to Protect", i.e. the responsibility of countries to protect their citizens from abuses such as genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. At the 2005 UN Summit, 150 heads of state and government agreed to take collective action via the UN against states that do not live up to their responsibilities.

- The principle of every country's responsibility to protect their citizens is an important cornerstone in the work for human rights. A united, strong UN is necessary in order to realise this in practice, says Mr Bildt.

Discussions on the climat threat and diversity

Mr Bildt will also take part in a discussion of how politicians can create alliances and work globally to tackle climate change. Another seminar will deal with the socially diverse society and its importance.

The World Economic Forum is an independent, non-profit foundation based in Geneva. The organisation is "committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas".