54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum begins in Davos

The five-day 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is being held in Davos, Switzerland from 15 January 2024. The 54th meeting takes place at a time when the world is facing many crises such as climate change, conflicts and fake news.

Theme of 54th meeting of WEF:

• The theme of this year's meeting is 'Rebuilding Trust'.
• According to WEF President Borge Brende, this meeting takes place in the most complex and challenging geo-political and geo-economic scenario. Amid all circumstances, WEF chief Borge Brende has described India as a major country with more than eight percent of GDP.
• More than 2,800 leaders from different countries are participating in the 54th meeting. These include heads of more than 60 nations and governments.

India's representation in the 54th meeting:

• India is being represented in the meeting by three Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Ashwini Vaishnav and Hardeep Singh Puri. Along with them, Chief Ministers of three states and more than a hundred CEOs are also participating in the meeting.

Chief Ministers of many states are also participating:

• Apart from the three Union Ministers, Chief Ministers of three states are also participating in the Indian delegation, these mainly include-
  • Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde,
  • Chief Minister of Telangana Revanth Reddy and
  • Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah.
• Along with them, many ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das are also participating in this meeting.

CEOs of many Indian companies are participating in the meeting:

• In this meeting, Gautam Adani of Adani Group, including many other prominent CEOs of India are also participating, these include:
  • Gautam Adani of Adani Group,
  • Sanjeev Bajaj of Bajaj,
  • Kumar Mangalam Birla of Birla Group,
  • Natarajan Chandrasekaran of Tata Sons,
  • Nadir Godrej of Godrej Group,
  • Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Group,
  • Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairman, HCLTech,
  • Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani,
  • Rishad Premji, Executive Chairman of Wipro Limited and
  • Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Renew Power.

National Security Advisors (NSAs) meeting:

• The NSAs meeting was held in Davos to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine, a day before the formal start of the 54th WEF meeting.
• For the first time, a meeting of national security advisors from 90 countries was held in Davos.

Key points of discussion in the 54th meeting of WEF:

• The Russia-Ukraine war is also a major point of discussion at the meeting along with the Israel-Hamas war. Key topics to be discussed at this year's meeting include:
  • General elections are going to be held in many countries
  • Dangers of deep fakes using Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Climate change
  • Financial Crisis
• Many other problems facing the world will be discussed.

Heads of state of major countries participating in the 54th meeting:

• The Presidents of France, Ukraine, South Korea, Switzerland, Iraq, Singapore and Sri Lanka are participating in this meeting.
• The Prime Ministers of China, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Qatar and Vietnam are participating in this meeting.
• US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor,
• Foreign Ministers of major West Asian countries,
• European Commission President Ursala Wan and
• Heads of various international organizations are also participating.

12 out of 60-70 lounges in India: 

• Various governments and corporates from across the world have set up 60-70 lounges at the venue in Davos. About a dozen of these are from India.
• These include the 'We Lead' lounge showcasing women's leadership and the India Engagement Centre, besides pavilions for Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka. Also, pavilions of big IT companies like Wipro, Infosys, TCS and HCL Tech are included.

Indian Cuisine in Davos:

• This time, apart from Indian tea, coffee, samosa and kachori, Indian liquor will also be available in some bars, restaurants and lounges during 'Spirit of India Hour' on two evenings.
• Apex industry organization CII has also planned this big campaign.

About the World Economic Forum (WEF):

• WEF is a Swiss non-profit and international organization.
• WEF was established in 1971.
• The headquarters of WEF is in Geneva, Switzerland.
• WEF provides a common platform for political, business, social and academic leaders to shape global, regional and industrial agendas.
• WEF is an independent and impartial organization with no self-interest.
• The WEF is famous for holding its annual meeting in January in Davos, Switzerland's Eastern Alps region.
• The meeting being held on January 15-19 this year is the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.
• President of the World Economic Forum: Borge Brende

Various reports released by the World Economic Forum:

• Global Gender Gap Report
• Global Risk Report
• Global Competitiveness Report
• Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report
• Inclusive Growth and Development Report
• Global Human Capital Report