World Economic Forum highlights: what all took place

The first day of the World Economic Forum is officially over with. Let’s take a quick look at what all took place at the meeting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Zurich on Monday to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos. The prime minister also hosted dinner for global industry bosses from 18 countries in Davos.

The first Indian prime minister to attend the WEF in more than two decades, Modi is accompanied by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, among others. Tomorrow, he will interact with global business community members, besides delivering his keynote address.

The prime minister had said in his departure statement yesterday that India’s engagement with the outside world in the recent years has become “truly and effectively multi-dimensional covering the political, economic, people to people, security and other spheres”.

“At Davos, I look forward to sharing my vision for India’s future engagement with the international community,” he had said.

Highlights

2.39 am:

Switzerland: PM Narendra Modi hosts a round-table meeting with CEOs of top global companies in Davos. #WorldEconomicForum2018 pic.twitter.com/0UICCZ35i5

— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2018

1.38 am: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis with Reliance Industries chairman at Maharashtra Pavilion at Davos.

12.12 am: 

Switzerland: Opening performance at the #WorldEconomicForum2018 in Davos pic.twitter.com/OlxLvVcCQI

— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2018

12.01 am: “PM is coming here to tell unique story of India’s growth along with major structural reforms and fact that India opened up economy at a time when countries are closing economies. Our FDI grew by 62% when across world it fell by 16%. We maintained our growth along with structural reforms, we worked for financial inclusion along with financial growth. PM has worked on global terrorism on the diplomatic front and to tell all of it India’s delegation is here,” Amitabh Kant, NITI Aayog CEO was quoted by a national news agency.

READ ALSO: What Modi told to the global CEOs is what an Indian wants to hear from his Prime Minister

11.42 pm:  PM Narendra Modi meets President of Swiss Confederation Alain Berset in Davos.

9:00 pm Ahead of the World Economic Forum, the International Monetary Fund has projected a 7.8% growth rate for India in 2019.

7:28 pm: PM Modi will host a dinner for global CEOs today.

7:25 pm:  Spicejet CEO Ajay Singh, who has himself steered a major turnaround in a sector like aviation, said India has a great story to tell at Davos and there can be no one better than Prime Minister Modi to tell this story. “When we saw Chinese premier Xi Jinping here last year, there was a lot of focus on China and it’s natural there would be a lot of focus on India this time,” Singh said.

 7:05 pm:  Indian CEOs made a strong pitch for a statesman like position for the country to counter the protectionism and domestic rhetoric likely to be presented by countries like the US. Eminent banker Uday Kotak, a Davos veteran who has been attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in this Swiss ski resort town for years, said has said India needs to understand the subtle difference between sales and marketing, and present the India story accordingly while positioning itself in the role of a statesman.

 6:20 pm Talking top media before the grand dinner, Union minister Jitendra Singh said that prime minister’s reforms have generated interest among global investors. PM’s Modi’s revolutionary and unorthodox reforms have generated a tremendous amount of interest in the global investor community,” said Dr Jitendra Singh, MoS PMO.