WEF's Virtual Davos Summit Begins Tomorrow: PM Modi, Jinping To Deliver Special Addresses

The World Economic Forum's (WEF) five-day online Davos Agenda summit will kick off tomorrow on January 17, with special address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping to be highlights of the first day.

The WEF's annual meeting, which has been taking place in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos for 50 years now, could not take place in 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic and has been deferred till early summer this year.

However the virtual summit 'Davos Agenda' summit would be held for the second consecutive year on the dates originally scheduled for the physical annual meeting.

The week-long digital summit will begin with a special address by Mr Jinping on Monday, followed by two virtual sessions - the first on COVID-19 and the second on technology cooperation in the fourth industrial revolution.

Mr Modi will deliver his special address on Monday evening, which would be followed by the address of United Nations' Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio are scheduled to deliver their respective special addresses on Tuesday (January 18), when special sessions would also be held on global social contract and challenges of vaccine equity, which would be attended by WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Serum Institute of India chief Adar Poonawalla, among others.

On Wednesday (January 19), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will deliver a special address. Besides, there would be sessions on energy transition, scaling up climate innovation and Latin America outlook.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Indonesian President Joko Widodo are scheduled to deliver their special addresses on Thursday, when special sessions would be held on ESG (environmental, social and governance) metrics for a sustainable future; the next frontier for knowledge and action; and restoring trust in global trade and supply chains.

On the last day, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Nigeria's Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo will deliver their special addresses. Besides, there would be special sessions on the global economy, building future preparedness and accelerating a nature-positive economy.

The listed speakers for these sessions include US Treasury Secretary Janet L Yellen, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.

The WEF has said 'Davos Agenda 2022' will be the first global platform for key world leaders to share their visions for 2022 and it is being convened on the theme of 'The State of the World'.