Davos within the tropics: World Financial Discussion board opts for Singapore | Europe Information

The World Economic Forum will hold its next annual meeting in Singapore in May and not coronavirus-hit Switzerland.

The World Economic Forum will hold its annual meeting in Singapore in 2021, instead of its traditional home country Switzerland, which is battling a rising number of coronavirus infections.

The top-class meeting, attended by executives from government, finance and business, will take place from May 13th to 16th in the Asian financial center and will return to Davos-Klosters in Switzerland in 2022, announced the World Economic Forum. According to the Singapore Department of Commerce and Industry, the meeting will also have a virtual component to allow for greater participation.

Singapore was chosen because it has a relatively low rate of Covid-19 cases and has recently started experimenting with modified versions of large-scale conferences. At the beginning of this year, the World Economic Forum announced that it would move its meeting in Switzerland to the holiday resort of Bürgenstock in 2021.

Switzerland is battling an increase in infections and has had around 54,000 new cases in the past two weeks, almost as many as Singapore has reported since the outbreak began.

“The special annual meeting 2021 will be a place where executives from business, government and civil society can meet in person for the first time since the beginning of the global pandemic,” said Klaus Schwab, founder and CEO of the World Economic Forum.

Over the past few years, the WEF’s annual meeting has attracted political leaders such as US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as a parade of billionaires, business executives and celebrities to discuss global challenges.

Singapore reopened

Singapore has brought the virus under control with strict measures such as: B. a partial ban for two months, the wearing of masks and the limitation of social gatherings. This has allowed the economy to gradually reopen since mid-June, with daily cases dropping to low single digits or even zero in the community while most of the new cases are imported.

“Despite the ongoing pandemic, we are confident that Singapore can continue to ensure public health and safety while supporting the WEF’s mission to bring about positive change through collaboration and commitment,” said Chan Chun Sing, Singapore’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Explanation.

Singapore has driven the reopening of its meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition sector known as MICE. The city-state has been accepting requests for conventions since October 1, which, with certain restrictions, can accommodate up to 250 people.

The pandemic’s approach to large business meetings was tested during Singapore International Energy Week in October. Attendees at the conference, held at the Marina Bay Sands hotel in the city center, had to take a quick Covid-19 test with results and download a contact tracing app within 30 minutes.