2003: At the World Economic Forum's Extraordinary Annual Meeting in Jordan, under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II, the Arab Business Council is established in the aftermath of the war in Iraq to provide an important forum for shaping the future of prosperity and security in the Middle East.

2003: A region-wide US-Middle East Free Trade Zone is launched to open trade with the US and between Arab nations. Consisting of more than 50 of the region's top business leaders, the Council is set to create cooperative action among leading members of the Arab corporate sector to enhance the competitiveness of the Arab region and to facilitate its integration into the global economy.

2002: The Forum provides a platform for the creation of a Disaster Resource Network, leveraging engineering and transportation industry firms' resources to assist with disaster relief efforts.

2002: The Annual Meeting 2002 serves as a platform for Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to announce the creation of a 500-million-Canadian-dollar fund for Africa to support the objectives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development through the implementation of the G8 Africa Action Plan.

2002: Additionally, the Gates Foundation announces a contribution of US$50 million for AIDS prevention in Africa, including US$20 million to fund the trial of a promising microbicide that could offer women a breakthrough in protection against HIV/AIDS.

2000: Recommendations from the Global Digital Divide Task Force are submitted to the G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit 2000; most of the proposals are adopted during the Summit and have become part of its final communiqué.

2000: At the Annual Meeting, World Health Organization Secretary-General Gro Harlem Brundtland announces a Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).

1999: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announces the "Global Compact," to give "a human face to the global market" at the Forum's Annual Meeting.

1994: Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a draft agreement on Gaza and Jericho at the Annual Meeting in Davos.

1992: South African President F. W. de Klerk meets Nelson Mandela and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi at the Annual Meeting, their first joint appearance outside South Africa and a milestone in the country's political transition.

1989: North and South Korea hold their first ministerial-level meetings at the Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos; at the same meeting, East German Prime Minister Hans Modrow and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl meet to discuss German reunification.

1988: Greece and Turkey turn back from the brink of war by signing the "Davos Declaration" at the Forum's Annual Meeting.

1979: The Forum becomes the first non-governmental institution to initiate a partnership with China's economic development commissions, spurring economic reform policies in China.

(www. weforum.org January 24, 2009)