China's Xi Jinping to attend 2022 Davos World Economic Forum virtual session

Chinese President Xi Jinping will be attending the 2022 Davos World Economic Forum (WEF) virtual session on Monday and will deliver remarks through a video link, reported state media Global Times. Jinping’s address came after China reportedly fulfilled its economic growth commitments made to the world at the WEF Davos back in 2017. The WEF virtual session will be taking place from 17 to 21 January. 

For the agenda on Monday, in the first session called “COVID-19: What’s next?”, WEF has said that the speakers would be discussing the emergence of Omicron variant “ and the reintroduction of national lockdowns, travel bans and quarantines – has reinforced the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Apart from discussing the pandemic, The Davos Agenda 2022 of WEF will also convene several leaders to address the state of the world. 

In its five-day online session, WEF is set to feature “heads of state and government, CEOs and other leaders discussing the critical challenges facing the world today and presenting their ideas on how to address them.”

While the WEF’s annual summit has been taking place in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos for nearly five decades now, it will take in virtual format for the second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the summit this year would start with a special address by Jinping on Monday, it will be followed by two virtual sessions including one on COVID-19 and the second on technology cooperation in the fourth industrial revolution.

PM Modi to deliver a special address in the evening

It is to note that apart from Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also address the virtual summit on Monday evening. The Prime Minister’s address will be followed by a speech by United Nations' Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Among other leaders who are reportedly set to take place in the ‘Davos Agenda’, summit include Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio who will deliver remarks on Tuesday, 18 January. Bennett and Kishida would participate when special sessions would take place on global social contract and challenges of vaccine equity. World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Serum Institute of India chief Adar Poonawalla would also be among the attendees. 

Image: AP