India readies power-packed presence at WEF before global elite
Davos (PTI): India is set for a power-packed representation at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in this Alpine resort town that will see the global elite discuss "a spirit of dialogue" in a fragmented world for five days beginning Monday.
US President Donald Trump will be the biggest star among over 3,000 global leaders from government, business, academia, multi-lateral bodies, civil society, and labour unions.
Trump is coming with his five cabinet members and the city has got a USA House for the first time in over five decades, it has hosted the annual WEF summit.
The WEF said at least 64 heads of government or state would be present, while six out of seven G-7 countries would be represented by their top leadership. China and Pakistan will also have big delegations attending the event.
Pakistan will also host for the first time a 'Sufi Night' where it will also serve 'Indus Valley' delicacies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also be present, WEF President and CEO Borge Brende said at an online press conference, asserting that the five-day annual meeting beginning January 18 will have a hard look at Ukraine, Gaza and Latin America, including Venezuela.
He said a big bipartisan delegation from the US Congress and state governors would also attend the meeting, being held under a theme of "a spirit of dialogue".
President Trump will bring along the largest-ever US delegation to Davos, including at least five secretaries. Those expected include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and also US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Brende said the world is probably facing the most complex geopolitical situation since 1945, and dialogue is not a luxury in times of uncertainty, but an urgent necessity today.
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Brende said the WEF Annual Meeting will have a historic participation of more than 3,000 world leaders from over 130 countries this year, including over 1,700 business leaders, half of whom are CEOs or chairpersons.
There would be a record number of 400 top political leaders from across the globe, including a strong Latin American presence.
The meeting will also be attended by more than 30 foreign ministers, over 60 finance ministers and central bank governors and more than 30 trade ministers.
Top political leaders taking part include Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, and Swiss President Guy Parmelin.
They also include presidents of Argentina, Indonesia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Finland, Mozambique, Poland, Serbia, Singapore, Israel, and Syria, alongside prime ministers of Spain, Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Palestinian National Authority, and Qatar.
Close to 200 leaders from civil society and the social sector, including labour unions, non-governmental and faith-based organisations, as well as experts and heads of the world's leading universities, research institutions and think tanks, will also participate in the meeting.
From India, at least four Union ministers -- Ashwini Vaishnaw, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Pralhad Joshi, and K Rammohan Naidu -- as well as six chief ministers are expected to be there, along with over 100 top CEOs from the country.
The chief ministers are Devendra Fadnavis of Maharashtra, N Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh, Assam's Himanta Biswa Sarma, Madhya Pradesh's Mohan Yadav, Telangana's A Revanth Reddy, and Jharkhand's Hemant Soren.
While Reddy is from Congress, Soren from Congress ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Naidu from Telugu Desam Party (an ally of the BJP), the other three CMs are from the BJP.
Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar (from Congress) was also expected to be there, but has dropped out due to his engagements back home.
Among Union ministers, Naidu is from TDP, while the other four are from BJP.
Besides, Gujarat's Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Rameshbhai Sanghavi (from BJP) and high-level delegations from Uttar Pradesh and Kerala will also visit Davos.
Indian leaders are expected to participate in several panel discussions, including one on 'Can India become the third largest economy in the world' during the summit.
Business leaders from India expected include Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani, Tata group's N Chandrasekaran, Bajaj Group's Sanjiv Bajaj, Jubilant Bhartia Group's Hari S Bhartia, TVS Motor's Sudarshan Venu and Mahindra Group's Anish Shah.
Other Indian corporate leaders expected to be there are Axis Bank's Amitabh Chaudhry, Godrej Industries Group's Nadir Godrej, JSW Group's Sajjan Jindal, Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath, Bharti group's Sunil Bharti Mittal, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, Infosys CEO Salik S Parekh, Wipro's Rishad Premji, Essar CEO Prashant Ruia, Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma and ReNew CEO Sumant Sinha.
Former Union minister Smriti Zubin Irani will also be there as founder and chairperson of Alliance for Global Good: Gender Equity and Equality, which was founded a few years ago in Davos itself.
Global leaders attending the summit include United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, World Bank President Ajay S Banga, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, UNESCO Director General Khaled el-Enany, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
From Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will also be there.
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Cold conditions intensify in Kashmir; IMD forecasts spells of wet weather
Srinagar (PTI): Cold conditions tightened grip over Kashmir as the minimum temperatures plunged across the valley, with Sonamarg the coldest recorded place in the valley, officials said on Sunday.
The meteorological department has forecast spells of wet weather, especially in the higher reaches of the valley over the next few days.
Officials said Srinagar recorded a low of minus 4.7 degrees Celsius while Sonamarg in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district, which received moderate snowfall on Friday, recorded a low of minus 8.9 degrees Celsius.
Shopian in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 6.7 degrees Celsius while Pahalgam recorded a minimum temperature of minus 6 degrees Celsius.
Gulmarg tourist resort in north Kashmir's Baramulla district registered a low of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius, down from the previous night's minus 4.2 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund, the gateway town to the valley, saw the minimum settle at minus 4.8 degrees Celsius.
Kokernag recorded a low of minus 2.2 degrees Celsius, and Kupwara recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.8 degrees Celsius, they added.
The Kashmir Valley is currently in the midst of 'Chilla-i-Kalan', the 40-day harshest winter period, during which night temperatures frequently plunge several degrees below the freezing point, and chances of snowfall are the highest.
'Chilla-i-Kalan', which began on December 21 last year, will end on January 30, followed by 'Chilla Khurd' and 'Chillai Bachha'.
The Meteorological Department has said back-to-back western disturbances would impact Kashmir, causing wet spells over the next few days.
Light snow at isolated higher reaches is possible on Saturday and Sunday, while light to moderate rain/snow is likely on January 19 and 20, it said.
The MeT office said there is a possibility of light snow at isolated higher reaches on January 21, following which light to moderate rain or snow is likely till January 25. A few districts of the Chenab valley, Pir-Panjal range and south Kashmir districts might get heavy rain or snow from January 23 to 24.
