Several Indian leaders, including at least three chief ministers—Devendra Fadnavis, Chandrababu Naidu, and Revant Reddy—will participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos, Switzerland, scheduled to take place from January 20. The event is expected to see over 100 CEOs and leaders from across India in attendance, as per a report by PTI.
Naidu will be accompanied by his son, Nara Lokesh, a senior Andhra Pradesh minister, while Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Tamil Nadu Minister T R B Rajaa, and Uttar Pradesh Minister Suresh Khanna will also join the five-day gathering in the Swiss ski resort town, the PTI report added.
Some senior Union ministers are expected to attend, though their names have yet to be finalised. In the past, figures such as Ashwini Vaishnaw, Smriti Irani, and Hardeep Singh Puri have represented the central government at the event. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended in previous years, there is no official confirmation regarding his participation this time.
According to the PTI report, the theme for this year’s WEF Annual Meeting is "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age," and the event will unfold against the backdrop of significant global issues, including the Ukraine war, the West Asia crisis, and the upcoming change in US leadership with Donald Trump’s return to office.
Maharashtra CM Fadnavis and Andhra Pradesh CM Naidu have attended multiple WEF meetings in the past, with Telangana CM Reddy also participating in the 2024 edition. The Indian delegation will include leaders from major business conglomerates such as Reliance, Tata, Adani, Birla, Bharti, Mahindra, Godrej, Jindal, Bajaj, and Vedanta groups. Prominent business figures like Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, and their next-generation leaders will be present, along with tech executives including Salil Parekh of Infosys, Rishad Premji of Wipro, Sumant Sinha of ReNew, Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm, and Adar Poonawalla of the Serum Institute.
The WEF, based in Geneva, describes itself as an international organization for public-private cooperation. This year’s 55th annual meeting will bring together leaders from government, business, and civil society, along with scientific and cultural thinkers. The meeting will focus on addressing global challenges such as geo-economic fragmentation, geopolitical polarization, and the ethical use of emerging technologies like AI, quantum computing, and biotech.
One of the sessions, titled "India’s Economic Blueprint," will focus on how India, one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, has leveraged local innovation and startups in technology and manufacturing to shift away from traditional export-oriented models. The session will explore India’s role in driving global growth in the future.
The meeting will also aim to address global challenges, including climate change, innovation, and the ethical use of AI, while promoting collaboration for a "People-Centered Agenda for an Intelligent Age."
(With inputs from PTI)
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