Geo-economic fragmentation, geopolitical polarization and divisions over values continue to impact countries and communities across the world. At the same time, exponential innovation and deployment around whole sets of inter-connected technologies – from AI and quantum to energy tech, biotech and health tech – offer an unprecedented opportunity to increase productivity and hence standards of living. Reviving and reimagining growth is critical to building stronger and more resilient economies.

Given these powerful forces at play, how can we avoid an Age of Fragmentation and instead work together on a can-do, people-centered agenda for an Intelligent Age? How can we reinvent the muscle of collaborative innovation to get out of the current low-growth, high-debt world economy and address common challenges from climate change to the ethical use of AI?

The Meeting

To respond to this dynamic context, the 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will convene the foremost leaders from government, business and civil society - as well as preeminent scientific and cultural thinkers - under the theme Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.

Building on the core roles of the World Economic Forum as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, the Meeting will:

Serve as a trusted global platform for dialogue and cooperation
Bring together a diverse community of stakeholders
Seek to connect the dots in an era of complexity
Be firmly future oriented both in terms of insights and solutions

In addition, a special workstream on Leadership in Complexity will be embedded in the meeting to look at the necessary toolkit to navigate this fast- evolving environment.

Explore key thematic prioritie [https://www.weforum.org/meetings/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2025/themes/]s → [https://www.weforum.org/meetings/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2025/themes/]

A Conversation with Friedrich Merz, Leader of the Opposition, Federal Assembly of Germany

About this session

Speakers