New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will showcase India’s economic opportunities for global investors and meet the CEOs of top international companies in Davos, Switzerland, at the forthcoming World Economic Forum annual meeting there next week. Mr Modi will deliver the keynote address at the WEF plenary session on January 23, the external affairs ministry said on Friday. Several other ministers — including finance minister Arun Jaitley, commerce minister Suresh Prabhu, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, railway minister Piyush Goyal, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and PMO minister of state Jitendra Singh — will also attend various WEF sessions. At Davos, the Indian government is also likely to make a pitch for American and other global companies to shift their hubs to India if they face problems operating in China.
This is the first time that an Indian Prime Minister will attend the Davos summit in two decades — after H.D. Deve Gowda in 1997.
India will also showcase its soft power, including yoga, cuisine and culture. Two yoga acharyas are being flown to Davos will hold yoga demonstrations there at a locale on the Swiss Alps. There will be a major reception that India will host for 1,500 delegates, during which the country will showcase its achievements in the past few years, including the huge jump in India’s global ranking in the ease of doing business.
Modi will also meet Swiss President Alain Berset at a bilateral meeting. There are so far no plans to meet US President Donald Trump or Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
