• The World Economic Forum in Davos, which ended on 20 January, was memorable for the abundance of anti-Russian rhetoric and American billionaires, Henry Kissinger's speech and alarmist forecasts of an imminent global economic crisis. The forum participants generally acknowledged the transition to a new form of world economy. The experts commented for RG on the outcome of the summit.

    Against a backdrop of intense anti-Russian geo-economic rhetoric in Davos, serious forecasts related to the onset of a global recession in the coming year were occasionally voiced, says BitRiver financial analyst Vladislav Antonov.

    "This is probably the only and most serious signal sounded related to the economy. Russia and China were not present at this forum and, as you can see, the panel sessions freed up were devoted to hypothetical world order principles and a discussion of who will pay for the West's hypothetical control of the entire global economy," he noted.

    But the serious question of the consequences of such an approach was not voiced, despite a record number of the world's central bank governors attending the forum.

    Problems of inflation, energy and food crisis also remained in the background, according to the expert. According to him, the forum is well known as an effective tool for lobbying the business interests of companies and businessmen. It is a well-established mechanism. The record number of billionaires from the United States who attended suggests a probable desire to be better prepared for new rounds of geo-economic wars and to benefit from them, Antonov stressed.

    In addition to political topics, which occupied a large place at the forum, and where the key speech was made by Henry Kissinger, the participants discussed events which in one way or another have had an impact on the global economy in the past year, said Artem Deyev, head of the analytical department of AMarkets.

    According to him, it was the energy crisis and sanctions against Russia, the outbreak of the pandemic in China and the slowdown of the Celestial Empire economy, the reformatting of energy and commodity markets. The problems of climate and demography were also raised.

    The most important thing at Davos is always the statement of trends. That is what the economic establishment gathers at the forum. Different speeches accumulate the common things that will determine the development of the world in the near future, the expert explains.

    "Participants recorded that globalisation is a thing of the past - there will be a growing process of fragmentation of the global economy, regionalisation, which will lead to higher costs and prices. There is a high degree of uncertainty in terms of geopolitics, which increases the risks of conflict, social discontent and civil disobedience. The negative effects of climate change, resource scarcity, etc. are increasing," said Deyev.

    The main outcome of the forum is a statement that the global economy is at the beginning of transition to a new format. The global crisis is inevitable, and as a result of its exit we will be dealing with a completely new form of the world economy, experts believe.