Union ministers Vaishnaw, Irani, Puri, 2 CMs likely to attend WEF Davos meet

New Delhi: Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw, Smriti Irani and Hardeep Singh Puri as well as Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah are likely to visit the snow-laden picturesque Swiss resort town Davos next month for the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and some ministers from Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana may also be in Davos for the annual gathering of rich and powerful from across the world.

Over 100 Indian business leaders, including Gautam Adani, Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, N Chandrasekaran, Sajjan Jindal, Sunil Mittal, Rishad Premji and Adar Poonawalla, will also be in attendance.

Also, more than 50 heads of states and governments from across the world are expected to attend the five-day annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which describes itself as an international organization for public private cooperation committed to improving the state of the world.

The theme of the 54th annual meeting, to be held from January 15-19, 2024, will be "rebuilding trust".

While the final programme of top leaders are still being worked out, sources said that the Indian participation is likely to comprise of at least three union ministers— IT and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani. The three ministers have attended the WEF meeting in Davos earlier also.

Shinde, who was in Davos for the 2023 annual meeting as well and his state Maharashtra had one of the biggest pavilions there, is expected to be there again for the 2024 summit, while Siddaramaiah will be there to represent Karnataka.

The meeting is also likely to be attended by heads of at least three PSUs, SBI, NTPC and Indian Oil.

Several Indian companies will have their pavilions in the Alpine resort town for the five-day meeting, alongside those of various ministries and state governments in addition to a central India lounge, previously known as "India Adda".

The WEF Annual Meeting's main programme is expected to comprise some India-focused sessions while the government and business leaders from India would also have their own side-events and bilateral meetings.