Davos: As the rich and powerful of the world reach Davos for their annual talkfest, the Swiss authorities have turned this small ski resort town on the Alps into a fortress-like area with up to 5,000 army personnel at work, including for civil support duties.
The elaborate security paraphernalia costs millions of Swiss francs for this small town with a native population of little over 1,000 people.
However, it is likely to host nearly 4,000 people this week, including more than 500 journalists who have come here to report on the global elite that include over 50 heads of states expected at the World Economic Forum's 47th Annual Meeting.
The 5-day event, beginning today, itself will have nearly 2,500 participants from business, politics, research and culture who will travel from around 90 countries.
The World Economic Forum annual meeting is one of the most important economic and socio-political events in the world. Each year, countless influential politicians, business leaders and scientists from many countries around the world come to Davos. For about a week, Davos, Graubnden and Switzerland are the focal points of national and international media attention.
The Swiss Federal Council considers the WEF annual meet to be an exceptional event for Switzerland as it provides a unique opportunity to cultivate relations with a great many leading figure at a special setting.
According to Swiss government data, the additional costs to the public authorities for security at the WEF annual meeting 2017 are estimated to amount to around CHF 9 million.
Of that, CHF 8 million is split between the partners as follows: Canton of Graubnden: CHF 2 million, Davos: CHF 1 million, Confederation: CHF 3 million, WEF: CHF 2 million; 80 per cent of the remainder is likely to be covered by the Swiss Confederation and 20 per cent by the other partners.
The federal government's share amounts to 3/8 of overall costs of security at the WEF. However, due to cost ceiling, this sum is limited to a maximum of CHF 3 million per annum.
In the event that the ceiling for security costs of CHF 8 million per annual meeting is exceeded, the federal government will make available additional funds not exceeding CHF 750,000 to cover the three annual meetings in 2016-18.
In the event of exceptional incidents (such as terrorist attacks, assassination attempts on politicians or business leaders, major threats of such acts), the federal government covers 80 per cent of the costs of additional arrangements required for internationally-protected persons.
The deployment of the armed forces in support is funded through the normal budget. Overall, the cost of deploying troops at the WEF annual meeting is much the same as that incurred by the same battalions when on regular training. In previous years, the deployment of the armed forces has cost an average of CHF 28 million per meeting.
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