Donald Trump is set to deliver a speech to the world’s elite at the World Economic Forum in Davos this Wednesday, amid escalating tensions over Greenland.

The tension heightened when Denmark decided to boycott the event on Monday, following Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on eight European countries unless they agree to sell him Greenland, a territory rich in minerals.

This aggressive strategy by Trump contrasts sharply with the World Economic Forum’s usual focus on fostering global cooperation and multilateral partnerships.

“This marks the end of Davos,” remarked Mark Blyth, a political economist from Brown University, in an interview with the New York Times. “It holds no significance, not at all. The more pressing issue is whether it ever mattered beyond the discussions of those entrenched in the existing power structures.”

Blyth further commented, “Trump is essentially asserting his dominance and making it clear that those who don’t align with his stance are irrelevant.”

The president will arrive at the Swiss resort on Wednesday where he will deliver a keynote address ’emphasizing that the US and Europe must leave behind economic stagnation and the policies that caused it,’ according to the White House. 

Trump is taking the largest delegation ever sent by Washington, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

It comes as the EU is now preparing retaliatory tariffs on $107.7 billion in US goods, or potentially denying America access to the EU market, the Financial Times reported. European shares fell sharply on Monday, while Wall Street was closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. 

Attendees listen to a virtual speech delivered by U.S. president Donald Trump, at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, January 23, 2025

Activists wearing masks of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk take part in a protest ahead of the opening of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 18

A Danish soldier during training at an undisclosed location in Greenland on Sunday

Danish troops take part in training drills in Greenland on Sunday

More than 3,000 delegates from over 130 countries will attend this year, including 64 heads of state and government. The list also includes several heads of G7 nations, with changes in American foreign policy under Trump in sharp focus.

Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy will appear at the conference in person, hoping to meet Trump and sign new security guarantees for a potential ceasefire deal with Russia. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev will also travel to Davos and hold meetings with members of the US delegation, two sources with knowledge of the visit told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, national security advisers from a number of countries are due to meet on the sidelines of the event on Monday, with Greenland among the subjects on the agenda, diplomatic sources said.

One European diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Greenland had been added to the agenda of the previously scheduled meeting after Trump’s tariff announcement.

The president said on Saturday he was imposing a 10 percent levy starting on February 1, rising to 25 percent in June, unless there’s a deal for the ‘purchase of Greenland.’

Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff, Trump said in a Truth Social post, after they sent troops to Greenland. 

Trump is expected to meet global business leaders, including CEOs in financial services, crypto and consulting, at a reception after his speech on Wednesday. The agenda is not clear.

Danish soldiers disembark at the port in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 18

President Donald Trump, left, greets Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he arrives at the White House, August 18 

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, and Jared Kushner attend a meeting with Ukrainian officials Sunday, November 30 in Hallandale Beach, Florida

President and CEO of NVIDIA Jensen Huang speaks during a Siemens news conference at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 6

As usual, protesters rallied over the weekend in and near Davos ahead of the event

Critics have long accused the annual meeting in Davos of generating more rhetoric than results, and they see Trump’s return as sign of the disconnect between haves and have-nots

One CEO simply had ‘a reception in honor of President Donald J Trump’ scheduled in their diary, while another said their understanding was that global CEOs had been invited, not just those from the United States. One of the sources said the invitations had come from the White House. 

Trump’s peace-making credentials also will be on the table. An announcement looms about his ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza, and he and his administration are expected to have bilateral meetings in the warren of side rooms at the Congress Center.

The board created for the Israeli territory became mired in controversy over the weekend after it emerged that Trump is demanding a $1 billion fee for members.

Britain’s former prime minister Tony Blair, who is part of its ‘founding executive board’, denied any role in the price tag.

Russia’s Putin is among the leaders of 60 nations who were invited last week to join as ‘founding members.’ 

Trump’s peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the architects of the Gaza truce, will also join Washington’s Davos delegation. 

The forum will be without its founder, Klaus Schwab, who hosted the first event in Davos 55 years ago focusing on business, only to see it since balloon into a catchall extravaganza.

He stepped down in April. New co-chairs Larry Fink, the head of investment firm BlackRock, and Andre Hoffman, vice chair of pharmaceuticals firm Roche, are in charge.