From Monday, January 2025 until Friday, January 24th, wef – Davos takes place in Switzerland. Many heads of state, politicians and major businessmen will participate in the four-day event in the Alpine resort – but there will also be loud absences. While Donald Trump, who is sworn in as president of the U.S. today, is expected to address the World Economic Forum through a live video call Thursday (23.1,2025), some leaders will be completely absent from the event. These include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Shi Jinping, as well as French President Emanuel Macron, Italy’s leader Georgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Kir Starmer. DIVERSION From the Group of Seven (G7) industrial countries – including the US, Europe’s largest economies, Canada and Japan – the only head of state to attend the summit in person is outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Solz. WEF says this year’s event – the 55th annual forum, which runs from Monday to Friday – will convene nearly 3,000 leaders from more than 130 countries, while the gathering “shows the crucial need for dialogue in an increasingly uncertain time”. It is noted that 350 government leaders, including 60 Heads of State and Government, “will gather in Davos-Clusters to face pressing challenges and shape emerging opportunities.” The theme of the event is “Cooperation for the Intelligent Age”, with the agenda focusing on five key areas: redefining growth, industries in the intelligent age, investing in people, protecting plants and rebuilding trust. However, not all world leaders will be there to discuss these issues. “The leaders of Brazil, China, India, who gave the key speeches 10 years ago, are not there now. Russia has not been welcome for a few years, Keir Starmer will not be there. Macron will not be there,” said on Thursday (16.12025) to CNBC Jan Aart Scholte, a professor of global transformations and governance challenges at the University of Leiden. “It is true that the Prime Minister of Spain will be there and there are some others, but the general picture of the Heads of State, the governments that will be there is that they are not the big players. I think if you go through a list of G20s, it will be a small minority [who will be present],” he said. CORVERSE Often there is no official reason for the lack of participation in WEF, but it is known that pressing internal problems – from slowing economic growth to political crises – keep government leaders at home. In recent years, there has also been some ambivalence regarding participation in an event that has been accused of being an elite and out of reality. The forum has repeatedly stated that it provides a space where stakeholders from businesses, governments, academic bodies, civil society, media and arts can “meet on a global, impartial, non-profit platform”. These people, he says, “they meet to find common ground and seize opportunities for positive change in major global issues.” In a statement to CNBC Monday, WEF said that, while always appreciating the presence of significant global leaders, “the impact and ability of the annual meeting to lead to meaningful dialogue and action is determined by the collective efforts of a broad and representative community.” This year’s program, continued the forum, “has been designed to address the most pressing global challenges, such as economic fragmentation, technological transformation and climate action.” “We recognise that world leaders face a wide range of commitments and responsibilities and their absence does not reduce our continued commitment to their respective governments and institutions throughout the year,” added WEF. Who will be there Many big names will participate in this year’s summit – an event that began in 1971 under the auspices of Klaus Schwab, who remained executive president of the event until early this year. Ding Xuexiang, the vice president of China, the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Javier Milei, Argentine Prime Minister and Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, are to hold speeches in Davos this week. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leien, will also attend, as will leaders of global organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization. Sven Smit, senior partner of the strategic partner of WEF McKinsey & Company, said in online comments that it would be a priority for participants to “understand what leaders in Davos have in mind”. “You can’t fully predict it, there are issues out there that people propose, ranging from growth to sustainability, but what distills as Davos’ theme is not fully predictable and this is the interesting part,” Smit said. However, many of the western institutions present in Davos have, in recent years, been on the wrong side of a pressure against globalisation by populist leaders such as Trump and countries such as Russia and China.
Davos 2025: Today the World Economic Forum begins
—