India's 'unity in diversity' will be on full display when the rich and powerful from around the world assemble in the country for five days starting Monday for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025.
India is sending its largest-ever delegation, including five union ministers, three chief ministers, and ministers from several other states, along with nearly 100 CEOs and leaders from the government, civil society, and the arts and culture sectors.
"In the World Economic Forum in Davos, there is a great deal of interest in understanding our thought process, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policy, digital transformation, and how India has created a new digital architecture under the Digital India programme," said Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who will lead the Indian delegation.
"There will be detailed discussions at the WEF Annual Meeting about inclusive growth, investment in social, physical, and digital infrastructure, and democratising technology," he added.
Vaishnaw will be joined by his four colleagues from the council of ministers at the Centre – CR Patil, Chirag Paswan, Jayant Chaudhary, and K Ram Mohan Naidu.
They will be accompanied by the chief ministers of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana – Devendra Fadnavis, N. Chandrababu Naidu, and A. Revanth Reddy, respectively. Additionally, senior ministers from other states, including Karnataka's Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, Tamil Nadu's T.R.B. Rajaa, and Kerala's P. Rajeeve, will also attend. Uttar Pradesh will have a presence, with leaders discussing the ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj.
The Maharashtra government has set a target of signing Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth ₹7 lakh crore at the WEF Annual Meeting. Telangana CM Reddy, along with his cabinet colleague D. Sridhar Babu and senior officials, is looking to attract investments.
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and other states will also be actively participating in the meeting. Along with these states, the union government will showcase India as a key investment destination through its ministers and senior officials.
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 from Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, and Israel, who will address the WEF meeting.
The event will see participation from nearly 3,000 leaders from over 130 countries, including 350 governmental leaders. The WEF has stated that the five-day meeting, starting January 20, will explore how to relaunch growth, harness new technologies, and strengthen social and economic resilience.
Top political leaders joining in person will include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, China's Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Argentina's President Javier Milei, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, and Spanish President Pedro Sanchez.
Other leaders attending include Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, Bangladesh Government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, Iraq President Abdulatif Rashid, Israel President Isaac Herzog, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Heads of international organisations attending will include WTO'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 attend, along with more than 120 Global Innovators, Tech Pioneers, and Unicorns transforming industries.
More than 170 leaders from civil society and the social sector, including from labour unions, non-governmental organisations, religious and indigenous communities, as well as experts and heads of leading universities, research institutions, and think tanks, will also participate in the meeting.
The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will convene under the theme "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age."
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