In 1971, Klaus Schwab founded the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a gathering place for business leaders, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and heads of state and their colleagues to address the most important issues of the day. While the forum features dialogues among leaders about a wide range of subjects, Klaus acts as moderator in bringing together leaders from opposing sides to discuss issues of world peace and reconciliation.
Examples include the 1992 meeting South African President F.W. de Klerk met with Nelson Mandela and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. At the 1994 meeting, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat reached a draft agreement on Gaza and Jericho.At the 2017 meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping acknowledged that his country needed to step up to environmental issues.
There is a great danger that heads of state get isolated and locked into dangerous positions fed them by sycophantic subordinates. Public forums like WEF give them a neutral place to discuss their differences and commonalities. I have personally observed how Klaus’s personal engagement and skillful moderation of these leaders has enabled them to find common ground.