Donald Trump is expected to meet global business leaders in Davos on Wednesday, sources familiar with the matter said, as the US President’s presence looms large over the annual gathering of the worldwide elite in Switzerland.
Business leaders, including CEOs in financial services, crypto and consulting, were invited to a reception after Trump’s address to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, the sources told Reuters on Monday. The agenda was unclear.
Among those attending will be a delegation of prominent Indian CEOs, underscoring India’s growing footprint in global corporate dialogue. The Indian business leaders expected at the reception include Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran, Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprise, Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman and managing director of Bajaj Finserv and Anish Shah, group CEO of Mahindra Group, according to Moneycontrol.
One CEO simply had “a reception in honour of President Donald J Trump” scheduled in their diary, while another said their understanding was that global CEOs had been invited, not just those from the United States. One of the sources said the invitations had come from the White House, Reuters reported.
Anthony Scaramucci, an investor who briefly served as Trump’s communications director during his first term, said he knew the meeting was happening.
“I’m not going. I’m not sure I’m invited, but even if I were, I wouldn’t want to be a side show,” Scaramucci said.
Trump is expected to arrive on Wednesday in the Swiss mountain resort, where he is due to deliver a special address. Several top US officials, including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, are also accompanying Trump.
China is being represented in Davos by Vice Premier He Lifeng, who is due to deliver a special address on Tuesday. He will also host a reception with CEOs and founders of global companies, a source told Reuters.
The WEF agenda has, to some extent, been overtaken by the US president’s dramatic policy moves, including his demand in recent days that the United States take over Greenland. WEF organisers have said that over 3,000 delegates from more than 130 countries will attend.
WEF organisers have said that over 3,000 delegates from more than 130 countries will attend this year, including 64 heads of state and government, particularly from emerging economies. The list also includes several heads of G7 nations, with changes in US policy under Trump in focus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev is also traveling to Davos and hold meetings with members of the US delegation, two sources with knowledge of the visit told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, national security advisers from a number of countries were due to meet on the sidelines of the event, with Greenland among the subjects on the agenda, diplomatic sources said.
One European diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Greenland had been added to the agenda of the previously scheduled meeting after Trump on Saturday to impose extra tariffs on eight European countries until the US is allowed to buy the Arctic island.