The 53rd World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting kicks off today in Davos. This year’s theme is “the value of cooperation in a fractured world”. The forum will host 50 heads of state and an additional 2,700 guests. DEVA Party chair and opposition coalition member Ali Babacan has also received an invite to this year’s summit, while President Erdoğan has been absent since feeling slighted at the forum in 2009.
President Erdoğan of Turkey continues to shun the forum due to an incident back in 2009. However, Ali Babacan, the former Minister Responsible for the Economy under Erdoğan, turned rival party chief has received an invite. Turkey enjoys no official representation at the summit to this day, as Mr. Babacan is no longer in government. Babacan announced that he received an official invitation on a TV interview earlier today(January 16, 2023). Babacan went on to both explain the message he intends to deliver at the forum and criticize the current government’s policies, saying:
“Our message in Davos will be; do not give up on Turkey. Turkey is a large nation. After the elections, Turkey will be a country that is at peace with the world, will be talking with the world, and will be trading with the world. It will be a country that keeps its promises. Trust our nation.”
According to sources obtained by Medyascope, Babacan was invited as a party chair – serving in official capacity. It is also expected that Babacan will speak on the current market developments during the 4 day summit.
Babacan has had many positions during his stint with the AKP. In addition to presiding over the largest economic expansion in modern Turkish history between 2002-2007, Babacan later went on to become the Chief Negotiator for Turkish Accession to the European Union, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister until 2015. Babacan severed ties with AKP in 2019, citing “irreconcilable differences” and founded his own party, DEVA in 2020. Although Mr. Babacan is no stranger to the WEF as he has previously attended the summit as a government official, this is the first time he is doing so in opposition colors.
This year’s WEF summit will focus on globally critical areas including climate change, food security, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, tensions between US and China, energy and terrorism. While the forum draws heads of state and attendees from all across the globe,
Official state attendees for the summit are are as follows:
- President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde
- President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
- President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola
- Chancellor of Austria Karl Nehammer
- Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz
- Prime minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo
- Prime Minister of Bulgaria Kiril Petkov
- Former President of Colombia Ivan Duque
- Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic
- Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis
- President of Iraq Barham Salih
- President of Kurdistan Region Nechervan Barzani
- President of Israel Isaac Herzog
- President of Poland Andrzej Duda
- Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
- President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol
- President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa
- President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev
- Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin
- Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte
- President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic
- Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez
While Russia did not receive an official invite from the forum, Russian attendees were outright banned from the summit altogether. Ukrainian President Volodmiry Zelensky is expected to attend via video-conference. The Beijing government will send Deputy Prime Minister Liu He to Davos. The US delegation will be accompanied by Trade Representative Katherine Tai and President Joe Biden’s Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
The “One Minute” incident
And while the opposition makes an appearance in Davos, President Erdoğan is still notably absent due to an incident in 2009. During the WEF forum in 2009, then Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres was delivering the closing remarks of the panel. As the former PM finished speaking and the moderator David Ignatius attempted to move on to the next event, Erdoğan demanded the floor to rebut Peres. Uncontent with Peres proclaiming that Israel sought peace with Palestine, Erdoğan loudly repeated “One Minute!” until he pried time to roundly and strongly criticize Peres and the state of Israel for human rights abuses. After he was assured that he would be given one minute and one minute alone, Erdoğan switched over to Turkish and began with:
Medyascope'un günlük e-bülteni
Andaç'a abone olun
Editörlerimizin derlediği öngörüler, analizler, Türkiye’yi ve dünyayı şekillendiren haberler, Medyascope’un e-bülteni Andaç‘la her gün mail kutunuzda.
“Honorable Peres, your voice rings loud today! I know it rings loud due to a psychology of guilt. You will see that my voice will not be as loud as yours. When it comes to killing, this is something you know all too well. I too know well, how you bombed and killed children on beaches…”
After several minutes Erdoğan was interrupted by Mr. Ignatius, citing time restraints. At which point, Erdoğan, having felt slighted for the interruption, vowed never to return to Davos ever again; a promise which he has kept. The incident has been hailed as unfiltered bravery by President Erdoğan’s supporters and as a wild breach of decorum and an embarrassment by detractors ever since.
