We learned a lot from the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2025

After a week-long discussion dominated by Donald Trump's return to the U.S. presidency, world leaders and business executives have left Davos in Switzerland.

What we learned

MIDDLE EAST

Israel's ceasefires against Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups sparked real regional peace talk. Friends and enemies agreed that Trump is the only person who can get Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on board with a Palestinian State.

Iran, one Trump's primary targets during his first tenure, chose Davos as the venue to announce that it was willing to renegotiate the nuclear deal and had no intention or ambition to build a bomb. It also said that Iran posed no danger to its neighbors or to the rest of the world.

Javad Zarif said, "Now is the time to move forward, based on opportunities, not threats."

UKRAINE

Businesses and world leaders positioned themselves to achieve a ceasefire. Trump used his video message to announce that he wanted to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately to negotiate the end of nearly three years war.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian's Volodymyr, said that a European peacekeeping contingent of at least 200 000 was a condition for any agreement. This demand was rejected by Russia. His officials are also preparing larger privatisations in order to attract foreign investors for the approximately $500 billion reconstruction project.

Henrik Andersen said, "The recovery begins before a peace agreement," after closing a $470-million wind farm deal with Ukraine.

FINANCE

Deregulation in the United States is seen by financiers as a way to awaken the "animal spirit" that will lead to dealmaking in all industries, and in finance, where banks are expected to consolidate both in the United States of America and Europe.

Investors and bankers have expressed confidence in the strength of the U.S. economic system.

The crypto crowd was once again a part of Davos discussions, although not as visible as previous years.

Many executives were wondering if and how mainstream finance would embrace crypto, given the U.S.'s move to draft new regulations. They said they needed to wait and watch.

Tech executives and investors believe that the next wave in adoption could be fueled by using AI agents for automating certain tasks. They suggest starting with simple and repetitive ones.

Guru Chahal, a partner at Lightspeed Venture, said: "Agents will be a major part of the AI impact on (the) workforce... This is the year we'll deploy agents within enterprises."

Davos' discussion focused on the infrastructure and geopolitics associated with AI models, which are hugely complex.

Business executives in the U.S. say that although the U.S. has a technological advantage over China for the moment, it is important to continue investing and promoting tech-friendly policies.

Jared Cohen is the co-head at the Goldman Sachs Global Institute.

ENERGY

As they digested the Trump announcements, Davos delegates saw their industry shift.

The pledges ranged from pledging that the U.S. would unleash its energy industry in order to boost production, to accelerating LNG projects, to threatening tariffs on the EU if it does not purchase more gas. Other promises included suspending federal offshore wind leasing and declaring the U.S. withdrawal of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Executives in Davos stated that Europe must accelerate deregulation in order to encourage investments and maintain its competitiveness.

Trump's DEI moves reverberated in Davos where the World Economic Forum is aiming for gender parity, diversity of workforces, and better representation of minority groups.

Some businesses are searching for words to describe the workplace practices that they consider essential.

Trump has issued executive orders that cut federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. These programs are intended to increase opportunities for women, minorities of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other historically underrepresented groups.

Chinese investors and businessmen were worried about the further deterioration of the bilateral relationship between China and the United States.

The U.S. President unexpectedly delayed imposing tariffs against China on his first full day in office and expressed his need for China's assistance in ending the conflict in Ukraine during his video speech to Davos.

Some speculated on the possibility of a rapprochement, but questioned how long a honeymoon period could last.

Investors from around the world said that they are still interested in China, but want to see more concrete policies on stimulus. Investors will pay close attention to how Beijing intends to deal with the property crisis, local government debt, and weak consumer demand.

EUROPE

Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, described global economic challenges that Europe faces as "an existential danger".

Lagarde said that if European leaders could get together and respond to an existential threat there was a great potential for Europe's response.

Some executives pointed out that Trump's promise to reduce corporate regulations in the U.S. has given a new urgency to long-running EU discussions about how to become more competitive.

Norges Bank Investment Management CEO Nicolai Tanen said: "They are rolling back regulations fast in the U.S., so it is more important to (do) this in Europe."

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission in Davos, said that the bloc wanted to discourage innovative start-up companies from moving to the U.S. for growth by creating rules which would allow them to operate easily across the 27-nation European Union.

While the EU's rhetoric was encouraging, other executives wanted to see immediate action. (Reporting from the team at Davos, compiled by Alexander Smith and edited by Alex Richardson.

(source: Reuters)