Erdoğan asks Turkish officials to abstain from Davos due to organizers’ stance on Gaza

Turkish President Erdoğan has requested government officials not to attend the 2024 Davos Summit of the World Economic Forum due to the organizers' stance on Israel’s attacks against Gaza, according to Bloomberg's reporting.

Tuesday January 16 2024 01:13 pm

Mehmet Şimşek, then Deputy Prime Minister, represents Turkey at the 2017 World Economic Forum (WEF).

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reportedly asked government officials not to attend this year's Davos Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Jan. 15-20 because organizers sided with Israel.

Sources told Bloomberg that Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek had planned to attend the summit but changed his mind after Erdoğan's request. Erdoğan and Şimşek's office declined to comment on the claim.

Klaus Schwab, founder and chair of the WEF, deemed Hamas a “terrorist organization” while Erdoğan repeatedly described it as "a political party that won past elections” and “a liberation organization.”

Bloomberg said that Erdoğan's decision for Turkish officials not to travel to Davos would complicate Turkey's recent attempts to establish contacts with foreign investors.

Erdoğan has not attended the summit since 2009 when he was caught up in a panel dispute with then-Israeli President Shimon Peres and moderator David Ignatius. In what became known as the Davos Crisis or "one-minute" outburst, Erdoğan said he would not attend the Davos summit again.

Although Erdoğan did not attend the summit, ministers and government officials did so in the past years.