World Economic Forum: Factbox

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DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) -- About 2,400 businessmen and politicians are expected to attend the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, including 900 company chief executives and board chairs and 24 heads of state -- among them British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Around 30 trade ministers will meet on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum beginning on Wednesday, culminating in the broad trade gathering on Saturday.

Here are some key facts on the World Economic Forum.

Aim

The World Economic Forum, founded in 1971 is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Achievements

1979 -- The Forum becomes the first non-governmental institution to initiate a partnership with China's economic development commissions.

1988 -- Prime Ministers Andreas Papandreou of Greece and Turgut Ozal of Turkey embark on a peace initiative, setting up a crisis "hot-line" and vowing to avoid war.

1994 -- Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat talk late into the night over the delayed Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Jericho and one aide talked of "an atmosphere of compromise."

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.

Annan called on business leaders to set global labor, human rights and environmental standards and said, "We have to choose between a global market driven only by calculations of short-term profit, and one which has a human face."

2001 -- Microsoft Corp boss Bill Gates pledges $100 million to help develop an African AIDS vaccine which could be ready within five years.

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.

2005 -- Actress Sharon Stone raises $1 million in five minutes for malaria at the Davos summit, while Britain's Tony Blair shared a platform with rock star Bono and world's richest man Bill Gates to pledge aid to Africa.

Last year's gathering

The shadow of disruptions to energy flows crept across an otherwise sanguine meeting in Davos.

The international dispute over Iran's nuclear ambitions, militant attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria and Russia's gas disputes with its neighbors raised the profile of energy supply security.

Trade ministers from around the world said there was a new sense that progress had to be made on all outstanding issues relating to the so-called Doha round of talks, which aim to help poor nations out of poverty by lowering trade barriers.

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