Faisal Alibrahim and Børge Brende deliver the closing reflections of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026, outlining priorities and takeaways shaping the global agenda ahead.
In closing the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026, Børge Brende emphasized the Forum’s core function as a “platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue on the most complex and often contested issues of the day.” He underscored that disagreement is not a failure but a feature of credible convening: “We do see not always agreement. Sometimes we really see strong disagreements. And that’s okay,” because “dialogue is a prerequisite for moving the world forward.” Brende framed the week’s discussions around responsible AI, strengthening markets, engaging to address conflicts, and achieving inclusive growth where “wealth trickling down” becomes real rather than rhetorical. He warned that “the absence of discourse deepens division,” arguing that progress requires “patience, commitment and creativity.”
The closing remarks highlighted scale and urgency: the meeting convened 3,000 participants from 130 countries, including 830 CEOs and chairs and 64 heads of state and government—“a record”—signaling leaders’ continued demand for trusted spaces amid heightened global complexity. Looking ahead, Brende identified an early test of momentum with “Davos in the Kingdom in Jeddah, 22nd of April.”
Faisal Alibrahim echoed gratitude to members, co-chairs, and staff for operational excellence, closing with a note of pragmatic optimism, quoting Elon Musk: “It’s better to be an optimist and wrong than being a pessimist who’s right.”
Thank you, Andrew Sorkin. Thank you to this great panel. I'm so proud that the three women on the panel is also on our board of directors. Christine, doctor, and Kristalina. So we really have, great supervision and inspiration. Dear friends, it's surreal that it's Friday and we're seeing the end of the meeting. I thank you all for participating in this annual meeting. Very actively. And special thank you to our two co-chairs, Andrea Hoffman and Larry Fink, for exceptional cooperation. And I tell you, they have really worked tirelessly and very committed to make this annual meeting happen and also to the real mission of the World Economic Forum. And, of course, as Andrew already mentioned, I send like a monumental thank you to my all colleagues at the World Economic Forum that we pulled off this meeting. I'm so proud. Thank you.
Platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue on the most complex and often contested issues of the day. We convene, as we have seen during these days, very diverse voices from across governments, business and civil society, which means that we do see not always agreement. Sometimes we really see strong disagreements. And that's okay, because the purpose of the week and the forum's work over the year is to create a trusted space for dialogue. Dialogue is a prerequisite for moving the world forward. If you don't even have a dialogue, you will not see any results. We are not supposed to be like an echo chamber of consensus unlocking like potentials for responsible AI. As the panel touched on strengthening marks, markets, facilitating engagements to address conflicts, discussing how to reach real inclusive growth, and also wealth trickling down happen. If decision makers who do not always see eye to eye, talk to each other. This type of dialogue, real dialogue, is never easy. It requires patience, commitment and creativity. But it is really necessary because the absence of discourse deepens division. I think pages of history has shown us that it is really filled with walls rising and tension mounting at times, but also of leaders working to find areas of agreement in challenging moments. I think that what we have seen also during this week, I'm really so heartened to see that this year's annual meeting convened 3000 participants from 130 countries, 830 CEOs and chairs, 64 heads of state and government. And the numbers are growing every day during the meeting. It's a record. It is a real testament to the fact that one of the most complex global moments in generations, leaders were committed and inspired by our team as spirit of dialogue. It is my hope that we can carry this forward in the year ahead and beyond. And the first test will be in the spring. Davos in the Kingdom in Jeddah, 22nd of April. So I'm I have to admit, relieved, but also inspired and very thankful. And I would like the two co-chairs, if you don't mind, to join me here on stage so we can give them also a big hug and applause and, thank them. Thank you.
So a very special moment. As you can see, closing the first meeting where I was acting as a co-chair, spirit of dialogue, indeed. But I'm going to do a little sort of change. I'm going to separate you into two. On one side is our members. And thank you for coming. I think I have you heard me saying that a couple of times during the week? Without you we are nothing. So we really count on you to come. And I mean, I talk for those who are still here, of course, because quite a number of you have left. But thank you very much for, for, for, for doing this. And then the staff, I mean to pull out something to, to pull off, sorry. Something like we just experienced where the spirit of dialogues and the five strategic priorities were taken out into such a sophisticated healthcare needs an enormous amount of energy. And this is a human quality that I really found in everybody in the staff. So please join me in clapping for them. They have done a fantastic job. Taking people from all over the world and bringing them together in the wonderful town of Davos, with the support of the Federal Confederation and Graubünden, is a remarkable achievement. Thank you.
I would just say thank you to to all of you. But more importantly, the the big thanks is to the thousand members of the World Economic Forum who made this all happen. To pull this all together, making sure all the sessions work, making sure that we are consistent across all the different presentations and content. Even we we had better music this year. We had better food this year. We did not have better traffic. That's something we're going to have to work on. But but really a great, great thanks of gratitude to all the members of the World Economic Forum pulling this off. None of us could have done this ourselves. Hopefully you all saw the great collaboration between, Andre and Borga and myself. It really worked. And lastly, I just want to. Because I thought it was so profound. I want to end this forum with a quote that Elon Musk said in closing yesterday's session that it's better to be an optimist and wrong than being a pessimist who's right. So on that note, enjoy. See you.