 Thank you, Angelic and Armand Forces, musical opening of the meeting. Your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, Distinguished Heads of State and Government, Excellencies, dear partners and friends of the World Economic Forum, a very cordial welcome to the 2023 annual meeting. We are coming together under the motto, Cooperation in a Fragmented World. At the beginning of this year, we are confronted with unprecedented and multiple challenges. First, our global economy is undergoing deep transformation. The energy transmission, the consequences of COVID, the reshaping of supply chains are all serving as Catholic forces for the economic transformation. And the hotspots of this geoeconomic remodeling are high inflation, increasing interest rates and growing national debt. This is particularly hurting low and middle income groups. It is exorbitant societal fragmentation. Second, the geopolitical system is also undergoing deep systemic transformation. Internationally, we are moving towards what some people would call a messy patchwork of powers. There are superpowers, emerging powers, middle powers, regional powers, rogue states, and also large corporate and social media powers, all competing increasingly for power and influence. As a result, the trend is again moving towards increased fragmentation and confrontation. Thirdly, our generation has reached a turning point, confronted by truly existential problems, climate change, exploitation of nature, nuclear possible incidents, or even walls. Extreme poverty and viruses. They all can lead to an extinction of large parts of our global population. And we have seen how much dealing with those risks, such as COVID or global warming, have again fragmented populations. And finally, the forced-industry revolution offers us tremendous opportunities. But at the same time, technologies as computing, quantum computing, blockchain, genetics, and so on, they also could create deep societal fragmentation. We have the ability to collaboratively build a more peaceful, resilient, inclusive and sustainable world. But to do so, we need to overcome the most critical fragmentation. And the most critical fragmentation is between those who take a constructive attitude and those who are just bystanders, observers, and even go into the negative, critical, and confrontational attitude. But the spirit of Davos is positive, is constructive. It means investing into a greener and therefore more sustainable economy, investing into a more cohesive society by providing everyone with the appropriate skills and opportunities, investing into the hard and soft infrastructure that modern societies require. And here in Davos, it means despite all those challenges, it means particularly investing in the spirit and the practice of solving problems through mutual respect and cooperation. We believe that we can do it. That through collective responsibility, innovation, human goodwill, and ingenuity, we have the capacity to turn the challenges into opportunities. Ladies and gentlemen, I have now the great pleasure and honor to introduce Alain Berce, President of the Swiss Confederation, and Federal Counselor for the Federal Department of Internal Affairs. The World Economic Forum has been based in Switzerland for 53 years, and it is always this period, the cooperation between the Swiss Federal Government, the canton of Graubenden, and the municipality of Davos has been, the partnership has been truly exceptional. I would like to express, Mr. President, and all our Swiss hosts, our sincere gratitude for the hospitality and support all over those years. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to the President of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berce. Ladies and gentlemen, dear Professor Schwab, the post-war order is currently experiencing its greatest crisis. Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine constitutes a brutal attack on a peaceful country. But it is also a brutal attack on international law and multilateralism. The war is causing great suffering, and it is playing a decisive role on the global development of democracy. That is why the great solidarity shown by democratic countries with Ukraine is crucial. Not only with the people in the country, but also with those who have fled. And this aggression has come of all countries from a member of the UN Security Council, which, and I quote from the UN Charter, bears primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. And in spite of this, or not precisely because of this, Switzerland will make every effort to again strengthen international law and multilateralism. In the UN Security Council, for the first time this year, and through international Geneva, the seat of one of the most important multilateral platforms. Ladies and gentlemen, Excellencies, the world needs strong multilateral platforms because the greatest present-day challenges are transnational, climate change, pandemic, war, migration, proliferation. And this annual meeting is also an important platform for global dialogue. It is a place of optimism, of can-do spirits, and this is especially so in times of crisis. When I first attended the annual meeting back in 2012, the motto was the great transformation shaping new models. And it was a call to look to the future with optimism and to have confidence in the strength of our shared values and vision. But even at that time, even at the time, we have founder Klaus Schwab warned that inclusion is critical at the time when the number one risk to the world is rising in equality. And this warning has proven to be as accurate as it was for our sites. For since then, inequality worldwide has continued to grow. The World Inequality Report 2022, which measures global wealth, income, gender, and ecological inequality, comes to the conclusion that inequality today is as great as it was 20 years ago. And all the fears expressed at the 2012 annual meeting have come true. Inequality brings with it huge political and social collateral damage. And what we call populism is essentially a reaction to growing inequality. We all know that extreme inequality undermines social cohesion. It creates resentment, causing us to seek scapegoats. And it is politically toxic, eating away at our faith in democracy. The number of democracies worldwide has diminished very much. According to Freedom House, around 50 percent of the world population lived in democracies 10 years ago. And today, that figure is just 20 percent. And we find ourselves at the tipping point. Democratic institutions are being weakened. In certain places, the rule of law is under threat, even in some democratically constituted states. And the rule of law is also at risk of eroding in the international system. Business as usual is no longer an option. We must take steps to defend, steadfastly, the foundations that are a condition for civilized coexistence. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, we have given much forth, also here at the annual meeting, to efficiency and prosperity. The too little to social fairness. What applies in the domestic politics of most countries also applies in relations between states. And here, too, inequality is growing at an alarming rate. And already, fragile states are further weakened, first by climate change and the pandemic and then by the war in Ukraine. Around 350 million people in 82 countries are currently at actual risk of hunger, according to the UN World Food Program. That's 200 million more than before the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In large parts of Africa, the consequences are dramatic. Before the war, 90% of grain supplied to Eritrea and Somalia came from Russia and Ukraine. And the sharp rises in the price of fertilizer and oil have a huge impact on the continent's poorest countries, weakening them further still. The COVID pandemic also hit already fragile states hardest. And the quality increased significantly. And what is particularly difficult to accept is that prior to 2020, African countries were among the fastest growing in the world. Yes, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, many countries in Africa, just as many parts of the world, have been weakened by this terrible war and seen their ambition reduced. But that does not diminish the importance of these countries. It does, however, require a rethink. It needs an active global partnership, a partnership that recognizes enormous potential of countries in Africa and strengthens human rights and democracy, a partnership that addresses humanitarian needs as well as supports economic opportunities and innovation. Inequalities are not eliminated by charity. They're the example of COVID-19 vaccines. Promises were made to help fragile countries, Switzerland too, lent its financial and political support to the COVAX initiative of the World Health Organization, which wanted to achieve equitable access to vaccines worldwide. But when it came to distributing vaccines, there was little evidence of that kind of partnership. In light of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, we have seen that the risk of fragility is no longer a one-way street. The problems experienced by fragile states do not remain within their own borders. They are always exported to neighboring countries, but also to far-flung regions in the form of migration, corruption, terrorism. We must do all we can to support fragile states, otherwise their risk becoming failed states. That is why Switzerland will work systematically on behalf of the most vulnerable, in particular to protect the civilian population and improve food security. Ladies and gentlemen, Excellencies, fragility poses a threat to all of us. That is true domestically, but it is also true internationally. Self-interests and supporting those weaker than ourselves. We have long considered these to be two different things, but now we know they are one and they are the same. Thank you very much.