This year's meeting of the World Economic Forum, which is expected to draw 20 trade ministers and heads of state, began Wednesday in the Swiss alpine resort of Davos under the theme of "Partnering for Security and Prosperity."

"Here, in Davos, surrounded by several thousand soldiers and police, I believe we are rather well-placed to be talking about security and prosperity," Swiss President Joseph Deiss said at the opening of the WEF annual meeting, which is scheduled from Jan. 21 to 25.

"All it takes is a single act of terrorism to put all that into doubt," he added.

With over 2,100 top leaders from business, politics, religious groups and non-governmental organizations to attend, this year's WEF summit looks set to be dominated by issues such as trade, conflicts in the Middle East and security.

"Despite the difficulties encountered to date, I am confident that solutions will emerge and that the Doha round will be completed," said Deiss.

In a recent press conference, WEF Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab said of this year's annual meeting: "Global leaders from all walks of life will confront one basic fact: we will not have strong sustained economic growth without the prospect of prosperity."

"To have security and prosperity we must have peace. This is the Davos equation: security plus prosperity equals peace," said Schwab, who founded the WEF in 1971.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2004)