Davos WEF
Davos WEF

Who said what at Davos: World leaders speak out at 2017's WEF annual meeting

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images

The snow has settled. The bags are getting packed and another annual meeting of the World Economic Forum has come and gone.

Donald Trump. Brexit. Poverty. The fourth industrial revolution. Just a taste of what was discussed at this year's forum in Davos.

After a record 3,000 influential participants took to the snowy Swiss mountains to discuss leading global issues, CNBC takes a look back at some of the most memorable quotes.

For more of our WEF coverage, visit our Davos page.


Xi Jinping

China's President Xi Jinping stands next to a panda ice sculpture while launching the Swiss-Sino year of tourism on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Laurent Gillieron | AFP | Getty Images

"Despite the burgeoning new technologies such as artificial intelligence and 3D printing, new sources of growth are yet to emerge, and a new path for the global economy remains elusive."

"Inadequate global economic governance makes it difficult to adapt to new developments in the global economy."

"In the past few decades the global economic landscape has changed profoundly, but the global governance system has not embraced those new changes and is therefore inadequate in terms of representation and inclusiveness."

—Xi Jinping, President of People's Republic of China, on the global economy

Read more here: China President Xi Jinping: 'No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war'

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker, winner for Best Actor for his work in "The Last King of Scotland"
ROBYN BECK | AFP | Getty Images

"The tapestry of film has become more diverse. I think we also have to look behind the camera. It's become more diverse, but there is still a lot of room for growth, room for growth in both areas and all these areas."

"Then you have to look at the types of stories that are being told when you have these diverse casts, to look at whether it deals with gender issues, or it's dealing with sexuality issues or class issues, … there's still so much to still be dealt with, to be worked on, to be just looked as a whole."

"Yet there has been progress made definitely."

—Oscar-winning actor and social activist, Forest Whitaker on film diversity

Read more here: Oscar winner Forest Whitaker says Hollywood still has a lot of room for growth in diversity

Philip Jennings

Philip J. Jennings, general secretary of UNI Global Union
Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"I think (Donald Trump) is going to turn out to be the betrayer-in-chief. If you look at the people that he's surrounded with, there's not one of them that's got the working man's interest at heart."

—Philip Jennings, general secretary of the UNI Global Union on Donald Trump

Read more here: Donald Trump will be the 'betrayer-in-chief', global union leader says

Theresa May

Theresa May, U.K. prime minister, speaks during a plenary session at the WEF annual meeting
Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"If we look at free trade and globalization, I'm a promoter of free trade, I believe in free trade. I believe that it brings economic growth and prosperity. And globalization does."

—U.K. Prime Minister, Theresa May on Brexit

Read more here: Britain is open for business: UK leader Theresa May unveils bold manifesto at Davos and UK leader Theresa May: 'I'm a promoter of free trade, I believe in free trade'

Roberto Azevêdo

WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo delivers a speech at the World Trade Symposium conference in the Royal Garden Hotel in London on June 7, 2016.
Daniel Leal-Olivas | AFP | Getty Images

"The system is horizontal — it applies to everybody, the system that is perceived to be fair to someone, isn't fair to someone else. That's the beauty of the negotiations at a multilateral level — you try to strike a balance — the balance is never perfect for anyone."

—WTO Director-General, Roberto Azevêdo on trade deals

Read more here: WTO admits global trade deals 'are never perfect for anyone'

Jes Staley

Jes Staley, chief executive officer of Barclays Plc
Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"We believe that the banks need to atone for the mistakes, transgressions made going into the financial crisis and Barclays is prepared to pay that price. But in our view the price has to be fair."

—Barclays CEO, Jes Staley on banks behavior and settlements

Read more here: Volcker rule and Dodd-Frank are here to stay, and banks need to get used to it: Barclays CEO

Mark Weinberger

Mark Weinberger, chairman and chief executive officer of Ernst & Young LLP
Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"We cannot be successful in creating jobs if 50 percent of the workforce is left out."

"There is unintentional bias (in the workplace currently) and in some ways, robotics can remove some of that unintentional bias by objectively looking at criteria, and so I think there's optimism there."

—EY's CEO, Mark Weinberger on gender and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Read more here: Tech can help women 'leapfrog' men in the workplace: Manpower CEO

Joe Biden

Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States speaks at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 18, 2017.
Ruben Sprich | Reuters

"The top 1 percent is not carrying their own weight."

—Outgoing Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden on the world's wealthiest

Read more here: In an epic final speech, Joe Biden warns that the progressive democratic world order is at risk of collapse

Shakira

Colombian singer Shakira delivers a speech
FABRICE COFFRINI | AFP | Getty Images

"Today's babies will drive tomorrow's business. Today's babies with their future productivity will fuel tomorrow's economies. Their capacity to contribute will shape tomorrow's societies, will solve tomorrow's problems."

—Singer-songwriter and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Shakira on child poverty

Read more here: #FacetoFace: What do Shakira and Arianna Huffington have in common?

Jens Stoltenberg

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images

"I am absolutely certain that the new president and the new administration will be strongly committed to a strong NATO, because strong NATO is important for Europe, but is also important for the United States."

"Two world wars have learned — (from) all of us — that stability (and) peace in Europe is also important for the United States."

—NATO's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg on alliance's future

Read more here: President-elect Trump is 'strongly' committed to NATO: Secretary General

Majid Jafar

Majid Jafar, chief executive officer of Crescent Petroleum,
Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"The problem over the last year is no one has been investing enough in the upstream. ... [It has been this way] for three years in [a] row, which is unprecedented, and so there is a real risk a few years down the line of an oil price shock."

—Crescent Petroleum's CEO, Majid Jafar on oil's future

Read more here: Lack of investment heightens danger of an oil price shock: Crescent Petroleum CEO

Sergio Ermotti

UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti.
MICHAEL BUHOLZER | AFP | Getty Images

"2017 will be a very challenging year for Europe."

"You see what's going on with Theresa May (and Brexit) but also we have elections coming in Holland, most likely it's going to come out that the Populist party will have a relative majority. You will see France elections, you will see German elections, Italian elections and they are all pointing out to a lot of divide within the EU on how to tackle these issues."

—Sergio Ermotti, chief executive officer of UBS Group AG on Europe's future

Read more here: Low interest rates in Europe fueling inequality: UBS CEO