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The official sessions of the World Economic Forum in Davos began on Tuesday, 23 January, where Prime Minister Modi delivered the 'opening plenary'.
Over 3,000 global leaders, including CEOs, heads of state and government, artists and civil society members are attending the summit, that will draw to a close on 26 January.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the WEF summit, Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis discussed the development agenda of Maharashtra.
Lauding the Prime minister for his development-driven agenda, Fadnavis said:
Meanwhile, Khan hailed both Delhi and Maharashtra as his mothers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Delhi in the wee hours of Wednesday after attending the Annual WEF Summit in Davos.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan spoke to ANI together on the significance of the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos.
Praising PM Narendra Modi's speech, Khan said, "It is a matter of pride for all of us that for the first time in 20 years, we have a PM coming here."
Meanwhile, Fadnavis highlighted the efforts being made to bring forward Maharashtra as an investment destination.
PM Narendra Modi meets Queen Maxima of Netherlands on the sidelines of the WEF 2018 in Davos.
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Secretary, addressing media said that PM Narendra Modi had interacted with 64 CEOs from around the world, 40 of them from other countries and 24 from India.
He added that total market capitalisation of these companies is $3.6 trillion.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, reacted to PM Narendra Modi’s speech by asking him to tell Davos about India’s wealth distribution.
Quoting a news report, Gandhi said that 1 percent of India owned 73 percent of the country’s wealth.
PM Narendra Modi met his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of WEF 2018 in Davos.
Economic Relations Secretary Vijay Gokhale, addressing the press, said that Trudeau was looing forward to visiting India in February.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, reacting to PM Narendra Modi’s opening plenary called it an “enthusiastic” speech that can be a “global role model”.
PM Narendra Modi concluded his address in Davos by saying that an “inclusive, progressive” India will continue to be “good news” in the otherwise “gloomy world”.
PM Narendra Modi addressing the opening plenary at WEF 2018 in Davos said that India has sent the most number of soldiers to UN peacekeeping forces and has always lent a “helping hand” to all the countries in need.
PM Modi in his opening address in WEF 2018 in Davos said that India has progressed in the Ease of Doing Business index and has contained red-tapism.
He added that in India, democracy and demography were the reasons for India’s developments.
Modi said that that all countries need to work harder to boost global economy.
PM Narendra Modi, in his plenary said that countries becoming “self-centered” was a sign of “shrinking” globalisation. He claimed that this too was a threat, like terrorism and climate change.
PM Narendra Modi addressing the opening plenary at WEF2018 in Davos said that the second most important cause of concern for the entire world was terrorism, and that there is no difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ terror.
India’s GDP has grown six times since the last time its prime minister attended the World Economic Forum at Davos, in 1997, said PM Narendra Modi, addressing the opening plenary.
Modi added that there are some important questions that have risen and require adequate answers for future generations.
He added that technology has emerged as a “major force”, but that the problems posed by it was getting “serious” by the day. Modi also highlighted the importance of climate change, adding that it was time we thought about tackling it.
Modi added that India has always believed in “unifying” people and not “dividing” them.
The prime minister also pointed how Mahatma Gandhi endorsed utilisation based on “need”, and opposed “greed”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will become the first Indian prime minister in two decades to attend a meeting of the world's richest and most powerful in Davos.
He is expected to impress the influential audience with his government's plans for the 'New India' and ensure the world knows that India is open for business.
Reacting to Shiv Sena’s announcement of going alone in the upcoming 2019 general elections, Maharasthra CM, who is currently in Davos for the WEF summit said:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, 22 January, hosted a round-table meeting with CEOs of top global companies ahead of the Annual World Economic Forum Meet in Davos.
Speaking to ANI, Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar said he hopes for a safe release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's controversial film Padmaavat.
Johar also said that he feels really proud about Shah Rukh Khan being conferred the Crystal Award in Davos.
Speaking to ANI in Davos, Union Minister Piyush Goyal talked about how they (the government) are promoting the idea of a ‘New India 2022’ at the global meet.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu said that WEF is India's World Economic Forum this time around.
PM Narendra Modi met Swiss President Alain Berset in Davos on Monday and discussed ways to deepen bilateral ties on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual summit.
Berset said the discussions marked the meeting of the biggest and the oldest democracies in the world.
Thanking Modi, the Swiss President said he would continue to strengthen "our relations" with India.
Sources said the two leaders are also believed to have discussed the progress on automatic exchange of tax information. A legislation in this regard was passed by the Swiss Parliament, following which banks and financial institutions have begun collecting data for the first exchange that is to begin from next year.
Negotiations on EFTA (European Free Trade Association) trade pact and the bilateral investment protection agreement were also discussed, among various business and trade matters, they added.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan received the 24th Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Khan said he feels honoured to receive the award alongside Elton John and Cate Blanchett.
The Annual Crystal Awards ceremony, which opens the World Economic Forum summit in the Swiss ski resort, celebrates the achievements of outstanding artists who have shown exemplary commitment to improving the state of the world.
SRK received the award for "his leadership in championing children's and women's rights in India," the World Economic Forum said.
The past awardees from India include Amitabh Bachchan, Mallika Sarabhai, AR Rahman, Shabana Azmi, Ravi Shankar and Amjad Ali Khan.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met officials of the government of the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland in Davos, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan who will receive the World Economic Forum’s 24th Crystal Award took to Twitter to announce his arrival in Davos.
PM Narendra Modi arrived in Zurich on Monday, 22 January. He will proceed from here to Davos. Modi is scheduled to host a dinner for global CEOs later in the day.
"At Davos, I look forward to sharing my vision for India's future engagement with the international community," Modi had said before his departure to Zurich.
PM Narendra Modi leaves for Davos, Switzerland to take part in the World Economic Forum.
A day before his visit to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, being attended by over 70 heads of states and governments, Modi said 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."
The official sessions of the World Economic Forum will begin on Tuesday when PM Modi will deliver the 'opening plenary', during which he is expected to pitch India as an open economy that is ready for investments from across the world and also as a major engine to drive the global economic growth.
During his 24-hour-visit, described by officials as "short but very focused", Modi will also host a dinner for CEOs from across the world – 20 of Indian companies and 40 from elsewhere – on Monday evening and will interact with a large gathering of 120 members of WEF's international business community on Tuesday.
Besides, he will hold a bilateral meeting with Swiss President Alain Berset, among other pull-asides, as per the government officials.
Modi will be accompanied by six union ministers – Arun Jaitley, Suresh Prabhu, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, M J Akbar and Jitendra Singh.
US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later in January, opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
If Trump attends, it would mark the first time in 18 years that a US president will attend the annual gathering.
India presents an image of promise and the remarkable pace of "bold and structural" reforms have boosted its macroeconomic fundamentals while enhancing long-term economic outlook, founder chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab has said.
In a statement, Schwab said that India "will undoubtedly have a great role and influence in shaping our common future by enriching the global policy debate as well as assisting in designing and developing better policies for a prosperous world."
In his ever first appearance at the WEF annual meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to touch upon a number of topics, including a collective crackdown on terrorism, economic imbalances, cyber threats, and various societal ills.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will speak at a session on ‘India's role in the world,’ talking about how the political changes, structural reforms, and technology innovations are changing the country's socio-economic context.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
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