Sixty heads of state and government are packing their bags and readying to fly into the luxury Swiss mountain resort of Davos ahead of the next World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting that begins Monday.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres are among the self-styled global luminaries set to alight from their private jet transports for a week of meetings, cocktails, and back slapping.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will also take part at the 54th celebration of global power and elite management hosted by founder Klaus Schwab.
So too UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is going to Davos next week, appearing alongside Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch at an event hosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. the American multinational financial services firm, Bloomberg reports.
More than 300 other public figures will join them at the monied conclave to focus on “rebuilding trust” amid a world of uncertainty, as Breitbart News reported.
Another 2,000 to 3,000 people are on the official invite list, though many more flock to fringe events, swelling the population of the resort town from its modest permanent base of around 11,000.
Most will fly in to the local airport by private and commercial flights.
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“This Annual Meeting will welcome over 100 governments, all major international organizations, 1000 Forum’s Partners, as well as civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs, and news outlets,” the WEF boasts on its dedicated online site.
Just who is attending and how they will achieve their lofty goals is still to be determined.
Before the start of the WEF meet, a meeting of global security advisors will be held in Davos and many of them will also go on to attend the official program.
The WEF said the meeting will “drive dialogue, cooperation and partnerships on global imperatives, including economic growth, climate and nature action, energy security, technology governance and human development.”
The meeting will also be attended by South Korean President Han Duck-soo, Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Swiss President Viola Amherd, Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Iraq President Mohammed Shyaa Al Sudani, and Netherlands PM Mark Rutte.
File/No bugs on the menu as a chef serves canapes during the Welcome Reception ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Sunday, May 22, 2022. (Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty)
A waiter serves fine wine at the Welcome Reception ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. ( Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty)
(From L) Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Netherlands’ Prime Minister Mark Rutte and BlackRock Chair and CEO Laurence Fink attend a Ukrainian event at the WEF annual meeting in Davos on January 19, 2023. ( FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
Also attending will be Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Vietnam PM Pham Minh Chinh – to name just a few more.
Heads of international organisations taking part include IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank President Ajay S Banga, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and W.H.O. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Heads of civil society organizations include Kirsten Schuijt, Director-General, WWF International; David Miliband, President, International Rescue Committee; Luc Triangle, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation; Tirana Hassan, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch.
The WEF annual meeting will run from 15–19 January, 2024, under the banner “Rebuilding Trust.”