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Who’s who at Davos Agenda Week 2021

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2021 will see the World Economic Forum's first virtual annual meeting, The Davos Agenda. Image: World Economic Forum/Flickr

Georg Schmitt
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Davos Agenda

This article is part of: The Davos Agenda
  • More than 2,000 leaders will join the virtual Davos Agenda under the theme of "A Crucial Year to Rebuild Trust” from 25 - 29 January.
  • Twenty-five heads of state and government will join to address urgent need for global cooperation.
  • Six-hundred global CEOs to represent the private sector in 140 sessions live-streamed to the public.
  • Civil society leaders, academia, arts and culture, as well as youth, will be represented.

With the COVID-19 pandemic underscoring the need for greater global cooperation, political and business leaders from across the globe are set to convene from 25- 29 January to take part in the World Economic Forum’s virtual Davos Agenda event.

Government leaders from Chinese President Xi Jinping to German Chancellor Angela Merkel will address how the virus has reshaped society and what policies are needed going forward in 2021, focusing on the central theme of "A Crucial Year to Rebuild Trust".

They’ll be joined by others, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

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With the COVID-19 pandemic underscoring the need for greater global cooperation, leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will address how the virus has reshaped society and what policies are needed going forward in 2021. They’ll be joined by others, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Impressions from the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 inDavos-Klosters, Switzerland, 17 January. Copyright by World EconomicForum/Pascal Bitz
All change: Davos was ready to receive visitors in 2020. Image: Flickr/World Economic Forum

“Rebuilding trust and increasing global cooperation are crucial to fostering innovative and bold solutions to stem the pandemic and drive a robust recovery,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Forum.

“This unique meeting will be an opportunity for leaders to outline their vision and address the most important issues of our time, such as the need to accelerate job creation and to protect the environment,” he added.

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum greets Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China  at the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 17, 2017.Copyright by World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell, 2017.Copyright by World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell
Warm welcomes: Xi Jinping and Klaus Schwab, pictured at Davos in 2017 Image: Benedikt von Loebell via World Economic Forum/Flickr

Each day will have its own in-depth focus, with an emphasis on creating real impact through concrete and forward-thinking policies:

1. Designing cohesive, sustainable, resilient economic systems (25 January)

2. Driving responsible industry transformation and growth (26 January)

3. Enhancing stewardship of the global commons (27 January)

4. Harnessing the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (28 January)

5. Advancing global and regional cooperation (29 January)

Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Minister of Defence of Germany; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa 2017. Copyright by World Economic Forum / Jakob Polacsek
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, at Davos in 2020. Image: Flickr/World Economic Forum

While the list of confirmed attendees is still expanding, those who have already stated they will take part include:

Heads of state & government:

Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister of Japan

Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea

Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore, the host of the World Economic Forum Special Annual Meeting 2021.

Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana

Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel

Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda

Ivan Duque, President of Colombia

Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica

Alberto Fernández, President of Argentina

Emmanuel Macron, President of France

Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of Germany

Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy;

Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain

Guy Parmelin, President of the Swiss Confederation and Federal Councillor for Economic Affairs, Education and Research

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission

Leaders from international organizations, government agencies and central banks:

Christine Lagarde, President, European Central Bank

António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund

Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations

Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Undersecretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN)

Dongyu QuDirector-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

David Beasley, Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)

François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor, Central Bank of France

Fang Liu, Secretary-General, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

Anthony S. Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Angel Gurría, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Mauricio Claver-Carone, President, The Inter-American Development Bank

Andrew Bailey, Governor, Bank of England

Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Organization (ILO)

Jürgen Stock, Secretary-General, International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)

Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency

Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, Executive Director, APEC Secretariat (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)

Civil society:

Seth F. Berkley, Chief Executive Officer, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director, Oxfam International

Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT)

Marco Lambertini, Director-General, WWF International

Laura Liswood, Secretary-General, Council of Women World Leaders

Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair, Transparency International

Peter Sands, Executive Director, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF)

Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of Germany speaking during the session Special Address by Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, at the Annual Meeting 2018 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 24, 2018. Copyright by World Economic Forum / Ciaran McCrickard
German Chancellor Angela Merkel Image: Flickr/World Economic Forum

There will also be a strong presence from the business world, with many of the Forum's key corporate partners from across the globe in attendance.

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