The World Economic Forum has opened in Davos Switzerland. The meeting will focus on how to improve the regulation of financial systems to avoid future crisis, and will also address whether the global economic recovery can be sustainable.

 

During his speech at the opening ceremony, the founder and executive chairman of the forum, said concrete steps had to be taken to rethink values, redesign systems and rebuild institutions to counter the economic crisis.

Klaus Schwab, WEF Founder & Executive Chairman, said, "We can no longer revert to the old system individually and collectively. We must all address the new reality and embrace the scene of our annual meeting 2010, improving the state of the world, rethinking, redesigning, and rebuilding. "

In his address to the forum, French President Nicolas Sarkozy criticized unrestrained free-market capitalism. He told the audience to prepare for tighter regulations including new accounting rules and executive pay limits.

Nicolas Sarkozy, French President, said, "Free trade and competition are only means, not ends. Let us not confuse the means and the end objective that we must set ourselves. From the moment we accepted the idea that the market was always right and that no other opposing factors needed to be taken into account, globalization skidded out of control."

The French president's speech was in stark contrast to the tone from business leaders who warned that a flood of new regulations risked choking off a global economic recovery.

More than 2,500 leaders from over 90 countries, representing businesses, governments, civil society, academia and the media, are attending the five-day annual meeting.

The gathering will highlight a host of other issues facing the planet, from relief aid for Haiti's devastating earthquake to climate change.