This article originally appeared on Livemint.com.

As one gets through the week at Davos, one always notices certain themes emerging. It is possible that many of these themes become self-reinforcing but they are threads that seem to link the different sessions and speeches, even if you do not attend all of them. All major speeches by the heads of state, which included those of India, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Brazil, made a forceful argument against protectionism and for multilateralism.

At his plenary address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made the case for open trade and how India was opening up sector after sector. Similarly, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron said very clearly that the answer to the world’s problems was not to close borders, either for trade or to people. They were energized in their defence of a united Europe with a Franco-German alliance at the heart of it. Their clear message—“Europe is back!”

Shadow in the background

Despite all the talk of globalization to a mostly receptive audience, there was this shadow in the background. It was the much-anticipated address of President Donald Trump. Was he going to poke Davos in the eye by pushing forward his “America First” agenda or would he reach out by offering a view of America’s role in the world? A year ago, there was great anxiety here about Trump across a variety of dimensions. The speculation on the kind of reception he was going to get was put to rest when he walked through the Congress Center on Thursday afternoon: about 300 people had lined up holding up their phones in the air to take a photograph of him. Everyone wanted to see the man they grudgingly acknowledged was the master of dominating news cycles. I wrote this before his address and you’ll know by the time you read this what he said and what the reaction was. The discussion among CEOs was that if you desire to hear him speak, better show up two hours early to stand in queue.

Read the full article at Livemint.com.

Sri Rajan is chairman, Bain and Co. India.