The World Economic Forum in Davos might be the world’s biggest schmoozing fest for the rich and powerful but it’s not a cakewalk.
Just looking at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Thursday Twitter feed will make you dizzy.
First, a meeting with Mary Barra, chairwoman and CEO of GM, during which Trudeau tried to get a commitment from Barra that GM will continue its Canadian operations. She was evasive. Check.
Then there was a meeting with Johann Schneider-Ammann, President of the Swiss Confederation.
“Both leaders welcomed the strong relations that exist between our countries, and reiterated the importance of working together on international issues based on shared values,” said a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office. “They also discussed the potential for expanding partnerships, including in the areas of innovation and technology.”
Check.
Following that, Trudeau met with Balkrishan Goenka, chairman at Wellspun Group, a Mumbai-based Indian conglomerate, which among many other things produces pipes for gas and oil pipelines. Pipes, eh? Check.
Then, there was a meeting with Joseph Jimenez, the CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis. Check.
There was also a meeting with Habib Essid, Prime Minister of the Republic of Tunisia, during which Trudeau “also reiterated Canada’s support for Tunisia in the areas of security and economic development,” according to the PMO. “Both leaders agreed on the need to maintain efforts in the fight against terrorism.”
Check.
And to top it off Trudeau got to meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Check.
While these brief meetings on the sidelines have more resemblance to speed dating, there is a lot of work that goes into them. Just think of all the briefing books the prime minister had to read and digest.
And this is just for Thursday.
Wednesday night, Trudeau was at a private reception hosted by Chinese business magnate and philanthropist Jack Ma. The roughly 40 guests included celebrity A-listers, such as U2 frontman Bono, and actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kevin Spacey.
Trudeau’s first day at Davos also included meetings with executives from Royal Dutch Shell, Facebook and Microsoft, and billionaire investment wizard and philanthropist George Soros to get his “insights on the global economic outlook and climate change.”
So much for a Swiss Alps vacation.
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.