The 40th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) has focused on discussing lessons drawn from the global economic-financial crisis as well as measures to boost economic recovery and international negotiations on climate change.

The five-day meeting, themed “Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign and Rebuild”, opened in Davos , Switzerland , on January 27 with the participation of some 30 state and government leaders, 60 ministers, 100 officials from international organisations and 1,400 leaders from world leading companies.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the founder and President of the Forum, Klaus Schwab, warned that 2010 will be a year full of challenges.

The world will face a deep social crisis following the recent economic-financial crisis, he said, adding that the social crisis may last from generation to generation if world leaders delay addressing current pressing issues.

Schwab noted that the economic-financial crisis has fundamentally changed the world and made it impossible to return to the previous system. “That means we have to rethink our values, redesign our processes and rebuild our institutions,” he said./.