According to foreign media reports, the World Economic Forum announced on the 7th that due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the annual meeting of the Forum in 2021 will be held in Singapore from May 13 to 16 next year.
Previously, the forum said that the annual meeting would be held in the suburbs of Lucerne, Switzerland, in May next year. According to Reuters, this is the second time since its establishment in 1971 that the event has been held in a country other than Switzerland and the first time in Asia.
“After careful consideration and the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, we think Singapore is the best venue for the meeting,” the World Economic Forum said in a statement.
The change of venue mainly prioritizes the protection of the health and safety of participants and undertakers, and the annual meeting in 2022 will be held back in Davos, Switzerland.
Organizers said there would be an in-person meeting in Singapore, which would be “the first global leaders event to discuss the global recovery from the pandemic”.
World Economic Forum President Brende said that because the coronavirus epidemic in Europe is still serious, it is impossible to hold the meeting as planned, and Singapore is largely regarded as a successful response to the epidemic.
Singapore’s Ministry of Health said that 28 people are currently being treated in hospitals for the novel coronavirus, but there are no people in the intensive care unit and no community cases. The number of coronavirus deaths in Singapore is 29.
Meanwhile, Singapore has been pushing for the reopening of its convention and exhibition department. Since October 1, it has begun to accept applications for meetings with a maximum capacity of 250 people, but with certain restrictions.
Chan Chun Sing, Singapore’s Minister of Trade, said that the decision to hold the forum in Singapore was “an affirmation of Singapore’s ability to provide a safe, neutral and useful meeting place for global leaders”.
He said that the World Economic Forum will also set up a special virtual segment, which will allow more people to participate in view of the travel difficulties caused by the epidemic.
At that time, Singapore will take certain epidemic prevention measures, including testing and tracking contacts when participants arrive.
According to Reuters, this will be the second time that the World Economic Forum has been held in a country outside Switzerland and the first time in Asia since its establishment in 1971.
The first time it was held outside Switzerland was in New York in 2002 to show support for the United States after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, said that the Global Leaders Summit is crucial to solving the global recovery from the pandemic.
“Now more than ever, public-private cooperation is needed to rebuild trust and repair the rifts in the world in 2020. “
As a rule, the World Economic Forum usually holds its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in January. In June this year, the World Economic Forum announced that the theme of the 2021 annual meeting was “Renewal of the world” and was planned to be held in January 2021 in a combination of online and offline according to the original schedule.
In August this year, the organizers of the forum said that considering the possible health and safety risks caused by the coronavirus epidemic, the 2021 annual meeting will be postponed from January to summer.
In early October, the organizers of the forum announced that the 2021 annual meeting will be held in the suburbs of Lucerne, Switzerland, from 18 to 21 May 2021 in two ways: live meetings and online video conferences. Until recently, the idea of holding it in Lucerne, Switzerland, changed to Singapore in May 2021.
In addition, the World Economic Forum plans to hold a virtual event called “Davos Agenda Week” at the end of January next year.
The organization said that the event was “a mobilization campaign to promote global leaders to rebuild trust and formulate the principles, policies and partnerships needed for 2021”.
The World Economic Forum researches and discusses the problems in the world economy, attracting politicians, corporate executives and billionaires from all over the world to participate, which can be said to be starry.
Last year, U.S. President Trump appeared and attracted a lot of attention.
