WEF Online Meeting Held... Xi Jinping, Macron, Merkel Participate as Speakers

WEF Organizing Committee to Hold Online Meeting from 25th to 29th

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will participate as speakers in the online meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) scheduled from the 25th to the 29th.

On the 18th (local time), Bloomberg reported that the WEF organizing committee plans to hold an online meeting. The report also stated that Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, European Union (EU) Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to attend the WEF online meeting.

The WEF is held every January at the ski resort Davos in Switzerland, commonly known as the Davos Forum. This year, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the official in-person meeting is scheduled to be held in May in Singapore. However, with ongoing issues such as COVID-19 and the resulting global economic recession, the WEF organizing committee has judged that discussions on these matters are necessary and is preparing an online meeting.

Klaus Schwab, founder of the WEF, said at a briefing that "the agenda of the online meeting starting on the 25th will be to restore trust and prepare for an era of peaceful prosperity after COVID-19 with the participation of businesses, governments, and civil society." He emphasized that "more inclusive and sustainable economic growth is needed."

The WEF online meeting will cover various topics each day, including unemployment, inequality, fair economic and social systems, digitalization, and climate change. Depending on the daily topics, Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England (BOE), and Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are also expected to participate in the discussions.

According to the Associated Press quoting WEF Chairman Børge Brende, South Korean President Moon Jae-in will also attend the online meeting and will discuss Asia's role in the post-COVID-19 era alongside President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Modi, and Prime Minister Suga.