Trump, Zelenskyy, Scholz among 60 top leaders to address WEF Davos meet

New Delhi: US President-elect Donald Trump, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be among 60 top political leaders from across the world, including Germany, Switzerland, South Africa and Israel, who will address the World Economic Forum meeting in Swiss ski resort town Davos next week.

Announcing the detailed schedule, Geneva-based WEF on Tuesday said the meeting would see participation by nearly 3,000 leaders from over 130 countries, including 350 governmental leaders. Indian participation would include five union ministers -- Ashwini Vaishnaw, CR Patil, K Ram Mohan Naidu, Chirag Paswan and Jayant Chaudhary -- and three chief ministers -- Devendra Fadnavis, N Chandrababu Naidu and Revant Reddy, along with other ministers from other states and over 100 CEOs.

With the global economy undergoing a paradigm shift, the five-day meeting beginning January 20 will explore how to re-launch growth, harness new technologies and strengthen social and economic resilience, the WEF said.

"Davos is unique in bringing together close to 3,000 decision makers from governments, business, and civil society at the beginning of the year to address the challenges of a world in deep transformation," WEF Founder and Chairman Klaus Schwab said.

"Despite divergent positions and great uncertainties, the Annual Meeting 2025 will foster a spirit of cooperation and constructive optimism with the objective of shaping the forthcoming Intelligent Age in a more sustainable and inclusive way," he added.

"The Annual Meeting comes at a moment marked by a greater level of global uncertainty than we have seen in a generation, driven by geopolitical tensions, economic fragmentation and accelerating climate change," WEF President and CEO Borge Brende said.

"Within this more unsettled climate, the only way to address urgent challenges and unlock new opportunities is through innovative, cooperative approaches," he added.

Among top political leaders, Trump will join via live video link for an interactive dialogue with participants, while those present in-person would include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, China's Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Argentina President Javier Milei, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, South Africa President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, and Spain President Pedro Sanchez.

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, Bangladesh Government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, Iraq President Abdulatif Rashid, Israel President Isaac Herzog, Malaysia President Anwar Ibrahim, Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Viet Nam PM Pham Minh Chinh will also be there.

Heads of international organisations taking part would include World Trade Organization's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, IMF's Kristalina Georgieva, NATO's Mark Rutte, WHO's Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and UNDP's Achim Steiner.

Over 1,600 business leaders, including more than 900 of the world's top CEOs, will also participate, along with over 120 of which are Global Innovators, Tech Pioneers and Unicorns who are transforming industries.

More than 170 leaders from civil society and the social sector -- from labour unions, non-governmental organisations, religious and indigenous communities, as well as experts and heads of the world's leading universities, research institutions and think tanks -- will participate in the meeting.

The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will convene under the theme, Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.