Pandemic-ready infra in focus at WEF meet

Davos: With nearly 100 CEOs and over a dozen government leaders here for a rare springtime annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Indian contingent at this Swiss ski resort town is brimming with confidence when it comes to share their story of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and attracting more investments. The government leaders and their associates are also confident that India will be able to tell the world that their approach towards the Ukraine crisis has been the most balanced, even as a vast majority of the world leaders who have congregated here are expected to take on Russia strongly for waging the war.

Several Indian CEOs as well as government leaders also feel that there is a strong need to focus on creating necessary infrastructure for fighting any future pandemic and also to effectively defeat the existing one. Other key issues, they feel, which will dominate the five-day event include climate change, crypto currencies, role of multilateral institutions and rising costs across the world.

Some are also of the view that the unfolding political situation back in India in the run up to the general elections of 2024, and various state polls before that, would be of keen interest for the global leaders assembled here, while so could be the issues of societal conflicts as well as income and gender inequalities. One Indian CEO, however, said almost the entire world is seeing a rising level of polarisation and any India-specific issue should not gather much momentum at a summit the size of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

The Ukraine crisis, climate change and preparing a pandemic-ready world are the three main issues that would dominate the discussions over the next five days here, he added.