World Economic Forum to be held on January 22-25 – Who will attend Davos this year?

Some 3,000 business, government and civil society figures are due to gather at next week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, but an array of crises will keep several world leaders away from the snow-blanketed ski resort.

Anxieties over trade disputes, fractious international relations, Brexit and a growth slowdown that some fear could tip the world economy into recession are set to dominate the January 22-25 Alpine meeting, Reuters writes.

Among the attendees are only three leaders of the Group of Seven most industrialized countries: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte.

Donald Trump, who stole the Davos limelight last year with a rare appearance by a sitting U.S. president, pulled out of this year’s event as he grapples with a partial U.S. government shutdown.

French President Emmanuel Macron is also skipping the meeting as he seeks to respond to the “yellow vest” protests, while British Prime Minister Theresa May battles to find a consensus on Brexit.

Outside the G7, the leaders of Russia and India are shunning Davos, while China - whose president, Xi Jinping, was the first Chinese leader to attend the elite gathering in 2017 to offer a vigorous defense of free trade - is sending his deputy instead.

That will leave the likes of British Finance Minister Philip Hammond, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan and a host of central bankers with the task of trying to reassure business chiefs.

– Davos will be dominated by a high level of anxiety about stock markets, a slowdown in growth and international politics – said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Markit.

World Economic Forum Switzerland

World Economic Forum in Davos

World Economic Forum

WEF

Davos

IHS Markit

Shinzo Abe

Angela Merkel

Giuseppe Conte

Donald Trump

Emmanuel Macron

Theresa May

Xi Jinping

Nariman Behravesh

Brexit

G7