Takes office January 20/Trump will virtually attend Davos meeting after inauguration

2025-01-14 20:42:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Takes office January 20/Trump will virtually attend Davos meeting after

United States President Donald Trump will virtually attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a few days after his inauguration, the forum's president said on Tuesday.

Borge Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister who heads the Geneva-based organization, noted that during his first term, Mr. Trump had personally attended the meeting twice, which brings together government leaders, business leaders and other executives.

"On Thursday afternoon he will join us via the internet, for a dialogue with our participants," Brende told reporters on Tuesday as he presented the five-day agenda of the meeting which will begin on Monday, the day of Trump's inauguration.

"We think it will be a very special moment, especially to understand the priorities that the new administration will pursue," he added.

The forum organizers say that this year's meeting is expected to be attended by around 900 business leaders, including from important emerging markets, while in total around 3,000 participants from over 130 countries will be present.

With the challenges of climate change, wars, global tensions, economic uncertainty and other issues, Brende acknowledged that the forum's 55th annual meeting will take place in the most complex geopolitical challenge in generations.

The theme of this year's meeting is "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age" - a sign of the growing importance of technology in the world.

Ursula Von Der Leyen, president of the European Commission, plans to attend the opening day of the meetings on Tuesday, following the forum's opening gala on Monday. Other high-ranking participants include Argentine President Javier Miel, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang.

The forum will address issues such as: The future of Syria after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, where the new Syrian Foreign Minister will participate in the meeting; other topics will be the fight against climate change, the threats posed by artificial intelligence; global trade and economic growth, as well as wars in countries such as Ukraine and Sudan./CNA