This is Europe’s highest ski resort, and every January- end, in its coldest winter, a man called Klaus Schwab manages to assemble the world’s political, business and intellectual elite for five days of discussions. As always, when the World Economic Forum opens tomorrow, participants will have the chance to drop in on talks on “solving the mysteries of the human mind” and how much of happiness one can take. But this year, the gathering fears of a recession in the United States and the immediate backdrop of markets crashing worldwide will concentrate their minds away from eclectic meditations.

The distractions will be there, once US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice makes the opening address on terrorism, with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf among those in the audience. But the star debates will be on subjects like economic vulnerability, problems of equity, water resources, the rise of sovereign-wealth funds, and the interplay of faith and modernisation.

From the Middle East, including Iran and Israel, are present substantial teams, to contest ideas on shifting political realignments, including the post-Annapolis Palestine-Israel situation, Iran’s ambitions and the Gulf oil states’ economic opportunities.

India is there as a story, too, this WEF, and the Indian delegation reckons that not only is it larger in size than other BRIC groups, it may even be bringing more persons from the country than most G8 members. The India and China stories, however, are sparkle-coated with optimism. Some of the sessions participants may choose to attend, most of them bound by Chatham House Rules: “Innovative India” and “India’s International Agenda”, with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath participating in many discussions.

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