WEF: PM to interact with over 100 CEOs in Davos, apprise them of reforms

Modi will also host a round table dinner on 22 January for 60 top CEOs at Davos

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet over 100 of the world’s top business leaders during his visit to Davos to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The PM is slated to be in Davos on Monday and Tuesday and will be the keynote speaker at the inaugural plenary session of the WEF.

DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said on Friday that the highlight of Modi's visit, apart from his speech at the plenary session, will be the dinner interaction with top global chief executive officers (CEOs). He said 60 global CEOs have confirmed participation, including 20 from India. The other 40, Abhishek said, represent 18 different countries.

The DIPP secretary said these 60 companies, across 26 different sectors, cumulatively have a turnover of $3.3 trillion. He said 12 of these companies provide jobs to four million people around the world, including a million jobs in India. Abhishek said 12 of these companies have been operating in India for over a century. Airbus CEO Tom Enders, Hitachi Chairman Hiroaki Nakanishi, WEF founder Klaus Schwab, IBM’s Ginni Rometty, The Carlyle Group’s David Rubenstein and the BAE Systems chief, among others, have confirmed that they will attend the dinner with PM Modi on January 22, Abhishek said.

 

PM Modi is also scheduled to meet the 120-member International Business Council of the WEF. The list of council members includes topmost business leaders of the world. Abhishek said the two interactions, with 60 and 120 business leaders, will give the PM direct opportunity to showcase the transformative changes brought about in India in the last three years and articulate his vision. The PM will also have a separate interaction with Indian CEOs attending the WEF.

The Indian delegation will also showcase the jump in India’s rankings in ease of doing business and various other reforms at the main venue in front of 1,500 delegates. Indian cuisine will be showcased, as also its soft power with two yoga teachers being flown to Davos.

Apart from PM Modi, six union ministers will also attend several of the sessions. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be in Davos on January 24, and will take part in the ‘country strategy dialogue on India’. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will join Jaitley in this session. Abhishek said Prabu will attend nine sessions across three days, while Pradhan will attend five sessions. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal will attend 10 sessions, Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh three sessions and Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar will be part of two sessions. Abhishek said a large number of sessions being addressed by ministers reflected the importance WEF has given to India this year.

 

The Indian delegation will organise roundtable discussions on financial inclusion, promoting digital payments, clean energy, modernisation of Indian Railway and skill development, which will be attended by union ministers. Officials ruled out any meeting between Modi and US President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to address the closing session of this year's WEF meeting. PM Modi will have returned to India by the time Trump is scheduled to reach Davos.

DIPP Secretary Abhishek and Secretary (Economic Relations) Vijay Gokhale said the centrality of the message of PM Modi to global CEOs will be India’s increasing gross domestic product (GDP), reforms implemented in the last three years and the opportunities India offers to global business. Abhishek said Davos represented the PM an opportunity to interact with large number of global CEOs at one place to articulate the transformation of India’s economic policies and answer questions to give comfort to the CEOs.

Gokhale said New Delhi had a lot to speak about to the international community, particularly the fact that certain economies and countries are increasingly contributing more and more to the world economy, one is China and other being India. PM Modi is expected to speak about the improvement in ‘ease of doing business rankings’, implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) and recent decisions to open up single-brand retail.