From Gaza to Greenland: Five big takeaways from Davos 2026

The 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) took place in Davos, Switzerland, from January 19 to January 23. The meeting brought together nearly 3,000 leaders from more than 130 countries, including Pakistan.

The meeting was held under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue” and brought together heads of state, business leaders, cultural figures, and voices from civil society and academia.

As the 5-day meeting concluded, let’s look at five major events that occurred at Davos 2026.

Gaza-Board of Peace

One of the most consequential developments at the annual event was the announcement of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza-Board of Peace, a coordinated framework linked to Gaza’s post-conflict reconstruction and stabilisation.

Officials from Pakistan, Bahrain, Morocco, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Argentina, Hungary, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Mongolia also signed the document with Trump.

Originally meant to oversee peace in Gaza after the war between Hamas and Israel, the board’s charter envisions a wider role in resolving international conflicts, sparking concerns that Trump wants it to rival the United Nations.

Trump, however, said the organisation would work “in conjunction” with the UN.

Permanent members must also pay $1 billion to join, leading to criticisms that the board could become a “pay to play” version of the UN Security Council.

Pakistan’s economic reforms earn IMF praise

Pakistan received international recognition for its domestic policy, with Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the WEF.

“I highly appreciate the seriousness of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet for Pakistan’s development and the implementation of the difficult reform agenda for Pakistan’s betterment.”

She said the IMF had been working constructively with Pakistan for a long time, and the Pakistani government was implementing reforms in earnest.

“The government’s actions are starting to bear fruit,” she said, adding, “For the first time, budgetary discipline has been seen, and resources are being spent for positive changes in the lives of the people.”

Rare appearance by Tesla CEO Elon Musk

Elon Musk attended Davos for the first time after years of describing the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting as elitist, unaccountable and disconnected from ordinary people, as per Reuters.

The world’s richest man was interviewed by WEF interim co-chair Larry Fink. Musk predicted that “AI will be smarter than all of humanity collectively” by 2030 or 2031.

“With robotics and AI, this is really the path to abundance for all.”

“People often talk about solving global poverty — how do we give everyone a very high standard of living? The only way to do this is AI and robotics.”

IMF chief warns against AI

Speaking at Davos 2026, IMF head Kristalina Georgieva warned that artificial intelligence could sweep through labour markets like a “tsunami.”

“We expect over the next few years, in advanced economies, 60% of jobs to be affected by AI, either enhanced, eliminated or transformed – 40% globally,” she said.

“This is like a tsunami hitting the labour market.”

She suggested that in advanced economies, one in 10 jobs had already been “enhanced” by AI, tending to boost these workers’ pay, with knock-on benefits for the local economy.

Trump rules out taking Greenland

At Davos, President Trump ruled out the use of force in his bid to control Greenland, but said that no other country can secure the Danish territory.

“People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force,” Trump said.

“I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”

Earlier, Trump had threatened tariffs on European countries that opposed his Greenland ambitions. But later, he announced he was dropping those tariff plans after saying he had agreed on a “framework” for future talks about Greenland.