“The World Economic Forum will defer its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in the light of continued uncertainty over the Omicron outbreak,” the group said in a statement.

The group says that the meeting is now planned for early summer, adding that “participants will instead join a headline series of State of the World sessions bringing together global leaders online to focus on shaping solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges”.

The group underlined that current pandemic conditions made it extremely difficult to deliver a global in-person meeting. “The health and safety of everyone involved in physical meetings – participants, collaborators and the host community – have always been the Forum’s priority.”

The flagship event of the World Economic Forum is the invitation-only annual meeting held at the end of January in Davos, Switzerland, bringing together chief executive officers from its 1,000 member companies, as well as selected politicians, representatives from academia, NGOs, religious leaders, and the media in an alpine environment.

The winter discussions ostensibly focus around key issues of global concern such as globalization, capital markets, wealth management, international conflicts, environmental problems and their possible solutions.

The participants also take part in role playing events, such as the Investment Heat Map. Informal winter meetings may have led to as many ideas and solutions as the official sessions. (ILKHA)