Trump and Swiss president to meet in Davos
Swiss President Alain Berset will have an official meeting with US President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos next week, it has been confirmed.
The World Economic ForumExternal link showcase event will take place in the ski resort of Davos between January 23-26 this year. Trump will reportedly arrive on January 25 and give a speech on January 26. He will be accompanied by a large delegation of US ministers and officials.
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Berset and four Swiss cabinet ministers will hold around 60 bilateral meetings in Davos, it was confirmed on ThursdayExternal link. These include a meeting between Berset, Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Bilateral meetings will also be held with Argentinian President Mauricio Macri, Zimbabwe’s new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame and the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. Berset is also set to hold talks with the following heads of government: Charles Michel (Belgium), Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel) and Saad Al Hariri (Lebanon).
Arrangements are underway for meetings between Swiss ministers and the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, British Prime Minister Theresa May, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will meet Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner for European neighbourhood policy, who is responsible for relations with Switzerland. He will also hold bilateral talks with the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, and the Jordanian foreign minister, Ayman Safadi.
Last year the World Economic Forum’s Davos Congress attracted around 3,000 visitors, including some 500 journalists. Similar numbers are expected this year when it runs from January 23-26.
Companies each pay between CHF60,000 and CHF600,000 in annual membership fees. For the financial year between July 2015 to June 2016, WEF generated a CHF228 million in revenues. The non-profit organisation paid a budgetary surplus of CHF1.2 million into its foundation.
A study by WEF and the University of St Gallen found that the 2015 Congress meeting generated CHF50 million ($51 million) for the local economy and an additional CHF79 million for the rest of Switzerland.
The Swiss government authorises up to 5,000 military personnel to provide security at the Davos event, but the full contingent is rarely used. Security costs of CHF9 million are spilt between the Confederation, canton Graubünden, the town of Davos and WEF.
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