Davos 2019: World leaders you won't be seeing at WEF and why

The 49th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is being held at Davos from January 22-25 with the theme Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With more than 3,000 leaders from across the world converging in Davos to discuss how globalisation can work and to identify new models for peace, inclusiveness and sustainability, the event promises to be a mega global conference. 

But there are some leaders who have decided to skip the key event this year. Here's a look at top five among them.

Theresa May

UK Prime Minister Theresa May will not attend the event as she battles to find a consensus on Brexit. Last week, May's government won a confidence vote in the British parliament, clearing the way for her to attempt to forge a consensus among lawmakers on a Brexit divorce agreement.

Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump will also skip WEF 2019 as he continues to grapple with the partial shutdown of his government with 800,000 federal employees involved in the drama and going without pay.

Emmanuel Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron will also not be present the fallout from the so-called Yellow Vest protests dominating his current schedule. The protests started in November by fuel tax reforms but it has developed into a broader movement against Macron.

Vladimir Putin

Russian president Vladimir Putin is also expected to skip the event after three Russian businessmen - Viktor Vekselberg, the owner of Renova group, aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska, and the head of VTB Bank Andery Kostin had been barred from the event over sanctions imposed by Washington.