World Economic Forum in Davos: 2000, 2002-2003, 2006-2008, 2010, 2013

[Guess Who]

picture of the couple in switzerland, January 2000

[Guess Who]

Queen Rania of Jordan listening to the speech of her husband, King Abdullah II in the plenary hall of the Davos congress center January 30. Queen Rania is amongst 2,000 high ranking representatives from the world of politics and economics participating in the World Economic Forum's 30th annual meeting.

[Balqis]

Pics 1-4: in 2002

Pics 5-7: In 2003

From Getty and Petra:

[Little_star]

Queen Takes Part in the World Economic Forum in Davos

Amman, Jan. 25 (Petra) -- Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah will join other world leaders at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is being held in Davos, Switzerland, from January 25, 2006 through to January 29, 2006. Queen Rania will participate in an interactive session, on Thursday, January 26, entitled Muslim Societies in the Modern World, which will focus on the key challenges facing the Muslim world today. Moderated by renowned writer, Thomas Friedman, the session will include the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as the prime ministers of Iraq and Malaysia. She will also be meeting a group of Young Global Leaders (YGLs) to discuss their ongoing programs. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum of Young Global Leaders is an independent, non-profit organization, supervised by the Swiss Government and established by Professor Klaus Schwab in 2004. It acts in close cooperation with the World Economic Forum. On Saturday, January 28, Queen Rania will deliver the opening remarks at a session on the Global Education Initiative, entitled Transforming Education through Public Private Partnerships. She will also be participating in the said session's panel discussion about advancing education through new collaborative and sustainable models of public private partnerships, using, as an example amongst others, the Jordan Education Initiative, as the pioneer project in both Jordan and the region. Her Majesty is also expected to attend several meetings, in her capacity as the head of the YGL Nomination Committee, and the only Arab member of the World Economic Forum Foundation Board. The WEF's 2006 meeting will include heads of state, business leaders, academicians and key NGO representatives, amongst other leading personalities. //Petra//Shniqat 251600 Local JAN 2006 
http://www.petra.gov.jo/nepras/2006/Jan/25/30204900.htm

[Humera]

Good to know that the Queen will be at Davos after an absence of two years.
Last year she was pregnant and in 2004 she fractured her leg.
Haven't seen any pictures yet.

[madonna23]

she is not mentioned in the opening forum at cnn. does anyone have access to CNN Pipeline? they are giving a livestream of the world economic forum but i don't have access to it and I don't think it's worth paying for just for 1 event :)

[Humera]

Originally Posted by madonna23

she is not mentioned in the opening forum at cnn. does anyone have access to CNN Pipeline? they are giving a livestream of the world economic forum but i don't have access to it and I don't think it's worth paying for just for 1 event :)

I dont think she was at the opening plenary session, atleast I haven't seen her in any of the pictures on Getty.

Cant wait to see all the pictures of the Queen at Davos, starting tomorrow.

In the meahwhile I found a rather humorous article on the inaugural session of the WEF.

Here's an excerpt that mentions the various royals attending the event:

You want royalty? I offer Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Prince Philippe of Belgium, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, and Queen Rania of Jordan. (In my "Davos" Impromptus from Jordan last spring, I referred to the queen as a "smokin' hottie," which brought in a lot of mail — all in agreement.)

http://www.nationalreview.com/impromptus/impromptus200601250837.asp

The rest of the article mentions all the other notable figures attending the WEF session.

[purple_platinum]

In my "Davos" Impromptus from Jordan last spring, I referred to the queen as a "smokin' hottie," which brought in a lot of mail — all in agreement.

oh wow... that is interesting... smoking hottie... haha...

[Citizen2005]

(In my "Davos" Impromptus from Jordan last spring, I referred to the queen as a "smokin' hottie," which brought in a lot of mail — all in agreement.)

Is that good or bad

[Humera]

Neither. The article is meant to be taken in fun.

For those of you who are interested, CNN will be covering the WEF from Davos over the next few days. You can find the details and schedule of the tv coverage in this article:

CNN shines spotlight on Davos
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe....tv/index.html

Queen Rania will be taking part in a WEF session today and it can be seen live at the WEF website, starting at 17:30, I believe that is 6 hours from now.
The webcast can be seen at the link at the end of this post:

Muslim Societies in the Modern World

As Muslim societies modernize and become integrated into the global economy, tensions are rising over the pace and breadth of change.

1) How are leaders in different Muslim countries balancing the demands of modernism and tradition?
2) What are the challenges that Muslim societies have in common with other nations experiencing rapid change?
3) What challenges are unique to political leaders in Muslim societies when trying to navigate shifting attitudes and new mindsets?

• Hajim Alhasani, President of the Iraq National Assembly
• Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan
• Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan
• H.M. Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum

Chaired by

• Thomas L. Friedman, Columnist, Foreign Affairs, The New York Times, USA

http://gaia.unit.net/wef/worldeconomicforum_annualmeeting2006/default.aspx?sn=16038

[purple_platinum]

Queen Raina of Jordan smiles during the 'Muslim Societies in the Modern World' session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 26, 2006.

(from ap & reuters via yahoo)

[purple_platinum]

1-4. DAVOS, Switzerland: Queen Rania of Jordan talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf during the session "Muslim Societies in the Modern World" at the World Economic Forum in Davos 26 January 2006.
(from getty)

5-6. Member of the Foundation Board of the WEF, H.M. Queen Rania of Jordan speaks and is shown on the big screen during a plenary entitled 'Muslim Societies in the Modern World' at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday Jan. 26, 2006. The second day of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting promised a blend of celebrity and brass tacks talk of the issues facing the global community, ranging from security against terror to advancing human rights and the struggle against poverty and disease.

[princess olga]

~humera~, thanks for the link!
Boy, if one thing could be said about late King Hussein and current King Abdullah of Jordan, it would be that they were wise to marry women who are very well 'endowed' in the brain department!!
Now, I don't know whether Rania's comments at the world economic forum were prepped by someone else, or whether it was completely rehearsed, but all the same, this lady rocks! Should Jordan ever decide to abolish its monarchy, I'd say: Rania For President! :)

Slightly off topic: while listening to her, I couldn;t help but thinking the following:
*Rania is in a league of her own compared to her age peers in other royal circles: she is a true political talent!
*how how how on earth does she do it: be stunning (ok she purchased that one with plastic surgery), while being rail thin and fashionable while being a supposedly hands-on mom while being an all-out well informed, eloquent, politician...! Whew, who knew one single human being could do all this??!! Sure she has help, but still..how does she do it???

[Humera]

Queen Rania actually said in an interview that she was "terrified" the first time she addressed the WEF. She had and has to hold her own at an event such as this, among so many world and business leaders. So I agree completely princess olga.
well except the part about the surgery. She has only has her nose fixed which only brought out her features. Plastic surgery doesnt give you good bone structure or beautiful eyes. Ofcourse there's a lot of nay-sayers who'd have you believe otherwise. But thats beside the point.
I missed the live webcast but I will watch the on-demand broadcast tonight.


some image captures I made:

[Little_star]

Thanks for all the pictures, I particularly like this one of Mushurraf and Rania having a giggle.

I don't think they met when she was in Pakistan, although Abdullah definitely did meet with Musharraf.
It's good to see a muslim woman on the panel, it's such a shame she is the only one there. Maybe next year there will be another muslim woman joining Rania on the panel.

[Humera]

Oh i know. Judging from the pictures there were light moments during the discussion which is why I was disappointed that the webcast was cut down to 10 minutes.
I dont think Queen Rania met with President Musharraf last year either. She called on his wife though.
I think the people in the panel were chosen because they represent leaders who are dealing with extreme elements on their societies. So maybe gender wasn't a particular consideration for this discussion. Its not like there's a particular shortage of Muslim women who are qualified to speak on the subject.

[Humera]

Finally, pictures from Petra.
From yesterday:



From today. I think the second one is of her meeting Young Global Leaders.

[fanletizia]

Hilde Schwab and H.M. Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum captured during the session 'Not Gone, but Almost Forgotten' at the Annual Meeting 2006 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 27, 2006.

from newscom

[suPeRgiRL!]

I agree.. Queen Rania is indeed a beautiful and smart woman.. She's a superwoman! Hahaha

[Larzen]

Queen Rania was also present for the session on how celbreites/famous people can help raise money for different good causes or give different causes attention, the discussion was led by Crown Prince Haakon, also present was Maichael Doglas, Peter Gabriel, Professor in Economy Xavier Sala-i-Martin at Columbia University in New York, Founder for Women for Women International Zainab Saldi, Head of UN developments program Peter Pilot
http://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/2006/01/28/456108.html

she also met with Norwegian PRimeminister Jens Stoltenberg, they have worked together on the GAVI board (vaccination program)for many years, here he gratulated her on the birth of her son

VG