Libya is to make its first appearance in more than two decades at a major economic forum in Davos this month that will also host "very important discussions" with US overseer in Iraq Paul Bremer and five or six Iraqi ministers, the organizers said Tuesday.
The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) from Jan. 21 to Jan. 25 is expected to attract more than 2,000 personalities from business and politics to discuss how peace can be achieved through security and prosperity -- this year's theme.
"This year is quite different from last year," said WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab, referring to the previous forum which took place just weeks before the US-led war in Iraq.
"People are more optimistic and we have more positive signs on the geopolitical front," he told a news conference at WEF headquarters in Geneva.
"Libya, India-Pakistan, the capturing of Saddam Hussein and so on," he said.
In recent months Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has made a series of moves to re-establish diplomatic links with the US and Europe, concluding a compensation deal for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing over Scotland and last month vowing to abandon all programs to develop weapons of mass destruction.
As a direct result of these steps, the WEF invited Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem to attend the five-day forum, marking its first relationship with Libya for more than 20 years, a spokesperson said.
Adding to the assembly of international faces, Bremer is due to come from Iraq to the southeastern Swiss ski resort.
He will bring "with him five to six ministers from the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) for some very important discussions on the future of Iraq," Frederic Sicre, a managing director at WEF, told reporters.
In total, 34 heads of state or government are confirmed to attend the conference, including Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Irish Prime Minister and holder of the rotating EU presidency Bertie Ahern and the president-elect of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili.
Despite a devastating earthquake and upcoming parliamentary elections, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is also a possibility, and the organizers said they may yet reveal a couple more big political names.
Powerful international figures are also expected such as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and new NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
The business world will be represented by the likes of Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn and Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin.
Schwab noted that a major international event -- such as the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks or the war in Iraq -- would not take center stage at the forum, which will celebrate its 33rd anniversary.
"This year we do not expect ... an over-riding issue so it is a great opportunity for the World Economic Forum to come back to its real purpose and its real purpose is to look at the challenges on the global agenda in an integrated systemic way," Schwab said.
In addition, officials said they plan to hold a mini-ministerial of sorts to discuss the latest round of World Trade Organization talks, which has hit a series of delays.
Security will feature outside as well as inside the forum, with the Swiss authorities planning to close the airspace around Davos to reduce the threat of terrorism, while surrounding roads will be all but sealed off to prevent anti-globalization protesters from holding demonstrations, organizers said.
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