World Economic Forum in Davos deferred amid Omicron surge

The planned World Economic Forum in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos has been deferred "in the light of continued uncertainty over the Omicron outbreak," the international organisation announced on Monday.

"The Annual Meeting was scheduled to take place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland between 17-21 January, 2022. It is now planned for early summer," WEF said in a statement. The event is a meeting point for the world's business and political leaders.

Despite the meeting’s stringent health protocols, the transmissibility of Omicron and its impact on travel and mobility have made deferral necessary, it further stated.

Commenting on the decision, Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, said, “The deferral of the Annual Meeting will not prevent progress through continued digital convening of leaders from business, government and civil society."

“Public-private cooperation has moved forward throughout the pandemic and that will continue apace. We look forward to bringing global leaders together in person soon," Schwab added.

Moreover, the 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.

WEF held its last Davos summit, attended by top leaders from across the world, in January 2020, just before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, while the 2021 meeting could not take place due to the outbreak.

The Geneva-based entity, which describes itself as an international organisation for public-private cooperation, had first planned to shift the 2021 annual meeting to another location in Switzerland and then to Singapore, before finally cancelling it.