India at Davos 2023: All you need to know about key attendees, agenda and more

The World Economic Forum said the annual meeting comes as multiple crises deepen divisions and leaders must address people's critical needs. (File image)

The five-day annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) starts today in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos. The forum has called on leaders from across the globe to address the looming economic crisis, and threatening energy and food crises, while laying the groundwork for a more sustainable and resilient world.

The WEF said the 2023 annual meeting at Davos comes as multiple crises deepen divisions and fragment the geopolitical landscape and leaders must address people's immediate, critical needs while also laying the groundwork for a more sustainable, resilient world by the end of the decade.

The World Economic Forum in Davos this year is expected to bring about the highest-ever business participation, with over 1,500 leaders registered across 700 organisations, including over 600 of the world's top CEOs with top-level representation from sectors, such as financial services, energy, materials and infrastructure, and information and communication technologies.

The Who’s Who at Davos 2023

The theme of the 53rd annual meeting is ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented World’ and it will convene more than 2,700 leaders from 130 countries, including 52 heads of state/government.

Top political leaders taking part will include German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, South Africa President Cyril M Ramaphosa, Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Swiss President Alain Berset, and Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

Other top leaders include John F Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate of the United States of America; Avril Haines, US Director of National Intelligence; Martin J Walsh, Secretary of Labor of the United States; Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative; and Christine Lagarde, President, European Central Bank.

Heads of international organisations taking part include UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Leaders from civil society taking part in the meeting include Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance CEO Seth F Berkley, International Transport Workers' Federation General-Secretary Stephen Cotton, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad's President Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Religions for Peace Secretary-General Azza Karam, and Art of Living Foundation Founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Indian delegation at Davos

From India, at least four union ministers and three chief ministers are expected to attend.

The union ministers are Ashwini Vaishnav, India’s Minister for Railways, and Electronics and Information Technology; Smriti Irani, who heads the ministries of Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs; RK Singh, the Power Minister, and Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Health Minister. The chief ministers who would attend the WEF meeting include, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, and Karnataka CM BS Bommai.

As many as 100 business leaders are also expected at the 2023 meeting, including Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, N Chandrasekaran, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Adar Poonawalla, Sajjan Jindal, Nadir Godrej, Rajan Mittal and Sunil Mittal, and Sanjiv Bajaj, among others.

India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, International Solar Alliance Director General Ajay Mathur, Finance Commission Chairman NK Singh, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Secretary Anurag Jain, are also expected at the event.

What’s on the agenda

At the annual meet of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, India aims to showcase a consolidated presence with the Centre and states while projecting the country as a strong, resilient economy, acting as a problem solver on the global stage.

This year marks 36 years of the Forum’s collaboration with India. Over the course of five days, Invest India has organised several roundtables, panel discussions, and fire-side chats to deliberate on policy action and investment support in renewable energy, sustainability, infrastructure, healthcare and medical devices, startups, trade and logistics, technology, institutional investments, etc.

A high-level delegation from India, coupled with senior state government representatives, will be present at WEF 2023 to strengthen the nation’s position as an important stakeholder shaping the global narrative. This will include delegations from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu too.