U.S. President Donald Trump will lead a record-large U.S. delegation to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, next week, organizers said Tuesday. The Geneva-based think tank said the gathering is scheduled to run from Monday through Jan. 23.
Organizers said Trump will be accompanied by five Cabinet secretaries and other top officials. The forum said this year’s meeting is expected to draw 3,000 participants from 130 countries, including 850 CEOs and chairs of the world’s top companies.
Forum President Borge Brende said six of the Group of Seven leaders, including Trump, are expected to attend. Brende also said presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and Ahmad al-Sharaa of Syria are among those scheduled to come, along with other leaders.
Brende said a total of 64 heads of state or government are expected so far, which he called a record, and he said that number could increase before the event begins. He said China’s delegation will be headed by Vice Premier He Lifeng, Beijing’s top trade official, as the delegation’s senior representation at the meeting.
Among other high-profile attendees expected, the forum listed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. It also cited tech leaders including Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
The forum said the U.S. delegation will include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. It also said Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to attend as part of the delegation.
The forum, which held its first annual meeting in 1971, has long been a hub for dialogue, debate and deal-making. Trump has already attended twice while president, and he was beamed in by video last year just days after he was inaugurated for his second term.
Critics describe Davos as a venue where the world’s elites hobnob and do business, sometimes at the expense of workers, the impoverished and people on the margins of society. The forum counters that its stated goal is “improving the state of the world” and says many advocacy groups, academics and cultural leaders have an important role too.
This year’s edition will be the first annual meeting not headed by forum founder Klaus Schwab, who resigned last year. Brende said Schwab has been succeeded by interim co-chairs Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of New York-based investment management company BlackRock, and Andre Hoffmann, vice chairman of Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche Holdings.