Modi leaves for Davos to attend World Economic Forum

On Tuesday, Modi will also interact with 120 members of the International Business Council, which is a part of the WEF. Image source: Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday left for Davos in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum.

"Showcasing India`s resilient economy and India`s attractiveness as a destination of doing business!

"PM Narendra Modi emplanes for Davos to participate in the World Economic Forum," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.

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Modi will be the first Prime Minister from India to participate in the forum meeting in two decades after the then Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda in 1997.

The main event in Davos will be the keynote speech of Modi at the plenary session on January 23.

On Tuesday, Modi will also interact with 120 members of the International Business Council, which is a part of the WEF.

After HD Deve Gowda, Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister in the last two decades to be at the annual WEF meeting.

According to media reports, the private dinner at the Inter Continental is for 125 special invitees who will be briefed about the various government initiatives to liberalise foreign investments and replace "red tape with red carpet" that has already led to $80 billion of investment in process.

The new opportunities in healthcare, manufacturing, renewable energy, ecommerce, infrastructure and other areas will reportedly be in focus as will the strength of local human capital.

The ET report says that in attendance will be expat Indians like PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi and Microsoft's Satya Nadella as well as Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm, Qualcomm's Paul Jacob, Thyssenkrupp's Heinrich Hiesinger, Hitachi's Hiroaki Nakanishi, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem of DP World, IBM's boss and WEF cochair Ginni Rommety and Alibaba's Jack Ma.

Others on the guest list reportedly include Anders Runevard of Swedish wind energy major Vestas, Jesper Brodin of IKEA, Carlyle PE's cofounder David Rubenstein as well as Larry Fink of Blackrock.

As per the report, chief executives and chairmen of Wall Street banks like Citi, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch along with Volvo, American Towers, trading giant Trafigura, Kuwait Investment Authority, and American Towers Corporation (ATC) will also enjoy the specially created traditional Indian thali meal designed by top Taj Group chefs.

Two themes will underscore the India initiative at Davos. The business and investment pitch will be largely in the bilateral meetings and the dinner while Modi's keynote address will be mostly on this year's central theme of creating a shared future amid fractured mandates and India's pivotal role both in the region and across the wider global stage, reports ET.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley is unlikely to travel to the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos next week, preferring instead to put the finishing touches on the Union Budget due to be unveiled on February 1, reports Moneycontrol.

According to the report, Jaitley's decision to skip the marquee event in Switzerland underlines the importance the government attaches to this Budget, the last full one before general elections due next year.

(With inputs from agenies)

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