The 40th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting begins in Davos, Switzerland today, focussing on the theme: “Improve the state of the world: rethink, redesign, rebuild”.

Some 2,500 leaders from business, government and civil society are attending this year’s event. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, will deliver the opening address in a plenary session following the traditional welcome by the Swiss President, Doris Leuthard. Leaders will participate in over 200 working sessions on topics including Haiti, the Millennium Development Goals, the environment and the economy.

Chairman of the Deutsche Bank Management Board Dr. Josef Ackermann, member of the Foundation Board of the WEF, is one of the Co-Chairs of this year’s event.

On Saturday, 30 January, Ackermann will take part in a panel discussing the Global Economic Outlook. The panel comprises: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Lawrence Summers of the National Economic Council, Executive Office of the President, USA; Zhu Min, Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China; Christine Lagarde, Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment of France; and Montek Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission India. The panel will be chaired by Martin Wolf of the Financial Times.

Anshu Jain, Head of Global Markets Deutsche Bank, will participate in a session entitled: “The 2010 Investment Heatmap”. The session will look at private cash flows, asking the question: “What regional and currency exposure will investors be seeking next year?”.

Caio Koch-Weser, Vice Chairman, Deutsche Bank Group, will also be involved in a number of events and panels at Davos, notably a session entitled: “From Copenhagen to Mexico: What’s Next?”. This panel looks at the immediate steps that governments, businesses and civil society should take towards a long-term climate path that is environmentally effective and economically efficient. The seven person panel, which will be chaired by Timothy Wirth of the United Nations Foundation, will include Felipe Calderon, President of Mexico.