Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will leave for Switzerland on Tuesday to participate in the annual meeting of World Economic Forum (WEF) being held in the Swiss city of Davos from January 28.
The Prime Minister will participate in various sessions of WEF meeting on this year's theme 'Shaping the Post-Crisis World', being attended by over 40 heads of states and governments, and around 2,500 other participants from 96 countries.
At the WEF platform, Prime Minister Gilani will discuss the key reasons responsible for global economic crunch and will focus on finding ways to shaping a post-crisis world that is more adapted to the needs of 21st century. On the sidelines of WEF, Prime Minister Gilani is expected to meet various world leaders including UK prime minister Gordon Brown, Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, President of Ukraine Victor Yushchento and Albanian prime minister Sali Berisha.
The Prime Minister is also scheduled to hold meetings with the heads of World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and with the CEOs of various multinational companies. The Prime Minister will host a working lunch for selected business leaders, and will brief them on the trade and investment opportunities available in Pakistan. He will also meet the Chairman and Founder of World Economic Forum Professor Klaus Schwab and discuss ways and means for further engagements of WEF in Pakistan's economic growth.
The Prime Minister's delegation for the main WEF sessions will comprise Privatisation Minister Naveed Qamar and State Minister for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar. Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim will participate in the WTO ministerial meeting on the sidelines of WEF, whereas Minister for Investment Waqar Ahmad will interact with prominent foreign investors.
To economise the visit's expenditure, the Prime Minister and his delegation will travel by commercial flights. The WEF annual meeting will provide Prime Minister Gilani an opportunity, not only to interact with a host of world leaders bilaterally but also to seek support from international business community for enhanced investment in Pakistan.
Gilani will also give interviews to the world's leading media organisations including BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and Reuters. Other major categories of participants from world over include 1,200 businessmen, 219 public figures, 64 cabinet ministers, 30 senior officials of international organisations and 10 ambassadors. More than 432 participants from civil society including 32 representatives of non-governmental organisations, 225 media leaders, 149 leaders from academic institutions and think tanks, 15 religious leaders of different faiths and 11 union leaders, will also attend the WEF meeting.