From ministers to CMs, India sends heavyweights to Davos WEF summit
India’s participation will include at least four Union ministers along with six chief ministers, including Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
The India Pavilion on the Davos promenade. (Photo:PTI)
Davos, Jan 18: India is set for a strong and wide-ranging presence at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, where global leaders will gather for five days beginning January 19 to discuss cooperation under the theme “a spirit of dialogue”.
India’s participation will include at least four Union ministers, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Pralhad Joshi and K. Rammohan Naidu, along with six chief ministers, namely Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis, Andhra Pradesh’s N. Chandrababu Naidu, Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma, Madhya Pradesh’s Mohan Yadav, Telangana’s A. Revanth Reddy and Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is expected to attend but has opted out due to commitments at home.
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and senior delegations from Uttar Pradesh and Kerala will also be present.
Indian leaders are expected to take part in several high-level discussions, including a panel on whether India can become the world’s third-largest economy.
WEF President and CEO Børge Brende said the meeting comes at a time of exceptional global uncertainty. “The world is probably facing the most complex geopolitical situation since 1945,” he said, adding that dialogue is “not a luxury but an urgent necessity.”
He noted that discussions would focus sharply on Ukraine, Gaza and developments in Latin America.
The Indian corporate presence will be equally strong, with more than 100 CEOs attending.
Among those expected are Mukesh Ambani, N. Chandrasekaran, Sanjiv Bajaj, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Nandan Nilekani, Salil Parekh, Rishad Premji, Anish Shah, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Sajjan Jindal and Nikhil Kamath, among others.
Former Union minister Smriti Zubin Irani will attend as founder and chairperson of the Alliance for Global Good: Gender Equity and Equality.
US President Donald Trump will be the most prominent figure at the summit, leading what WEF officials described as the largest-ever US delegation to Davos.
Trump will be accompanied by at least five Cabinet members, and the city will host a dedicated “USA House” for the first time in more than five decades of the WEF’s history.
According to the WEF, at least 64 heads of state or government will attend the meeting, with six of the seven G7 nations represented at the top leadership level. China and Pakistan are also sending large delegations.
More than 3,000 leaders from over 130 countries are expected, including over 1,700 business leaders and a record 400 political leaders.
The summit will also host over 60 finance ministers and central bank governors, more than 30 trade ministers, and leaders of major global institutions such as the UN, World Bank, IMF, WHO and WTO.
Pakistan will also make its cultural debut at the forum with a “Sufi Night” showcasing Indus Valley cuisine, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also scheduled to attend.
PTI