STORY: WEF calls for cooperation to address global challenges, uncertainty
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 24, 2025
DATELINE: Jan. 25, 2025
LENGTH: 00:02:18
LOCATION: DAVOS, Switzerland
CATEGORY: POLITICS/ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the World Economic Forum
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BORGE BRENDE, WEF President
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): CHRISTINE LAGARDE, President of the European Central Bank
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, Singaporean President
5. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director

STORYLINE:

The World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Friday, calling for increased cooperation in the face of global challenges and uncertainty.

Amid ongoing conflicts, economic instability, and rapid technological advancements, the WEF Annual Meeting 2025 served as a crucial platform for fostering dialogue, encouraging collaboration, and driving sustainable solutions to shared global challenges.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BORGE BRENDE, WEF President
"We came together in Davos at a time of immense consequence and uncertainty, political, geopolitical, and macroeconomic landscapes all are shifting under our feet. At the very moment, the clock is quickly ticking down to meet critical political priorities, driving economic growth, reducing carbon emissions, finding ways to end conflict, all cannot wait. And the only way to progress on these issues is by working together."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): CHRISTINE LAGARDE, President of the European Central Bank
"There has to be trade relationships that are organized in a framework that is giving confidence to the partners. It cannot be about removing all the rules, ignoring the institutions. It's about all of us operating together. So, yes, you sit at the table. Yes, you negotiate. Yes, some countries are in a stronger position than others, but we all need each other."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, Singaporean President
"But what we've got to avoid is going to the other extreme of a real zero-sum world, The desire on the part of most of the world to stay open, to be interdependent, so that we can all grow."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director
"We have admittedly below the historic average, but still quite a positive growth. We were many, many thousand years ago, just a handful of people on this planet. Today, we are 8 billion. How did we get from there to here? Well, by collaborating and competing, and I think that there is no way we can wipe out collaboration from the future of humanity."

Nearly 3,000 participants from various regions and industries convened in Davos to address key global and regional challenges. They include responding to geopolitical shocks, stimulating growth to improve living standards, and advancing a just and inclusive energy transition.

The annual meeting, under the theme "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age," focused on five pivotal areas: reimagining growth, industries in the intelligent age, investing in people, safeguarding the planet, and rebuilding trust.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Davos, Switzerland.
(XHTV)