KATHMANDU, Jan 16 : Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is visiting Switzerland from January 22 to 25, will hold meetings with leaders from various countries including Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on the margins of Annual World Economic Forum, sources said on Wednesday.
Leading a 19-member high-powered delegation, Prime Minister Oli is scheduled to leave for Switzerland on January 20. He will take part in the conference on Annual World Economic Forum to be held from January 22-25 in Davos of Switzerland. The WEF's conference will be attended by the chiefs of government from across the globe.
Sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) told Republica Online that Prime Minister Oli will hold separate meetings with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen, Swiss President Ueli Maure and World Economic Forum President Børge Brende among others.
"We are trying to fix meetings with leaders from other countries as well," an official at the ministry said. Oli is going to be the first head of government from Nepal to address the forum.
Prime Minister Oli will deliver speech during the two sessions titled "Strategic Outlook on South Asia" and "Shaping the Future of Democracy," according to Foreign Relations Advisor to Prime Minister Rajan Bhattarai.
PM Oli holds meeting with Vietnamese PM Xuan Phuc
Leaders from the G20 member states, who take part in the conference, are scheduled to hold a separate group meeting with Prime Minister Oli, Bhattarai said.
Oli will be accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi, Chief Political Advisor to Oli Bishnu Rimal, Foreign Relations Advisor Rajan Bhattarai, among other officials.
Oli is leaving for Switzerland on January 20. The MoFA and Prime Minister's Office are making preparations for the visit. However, the Cabinet has yet to endorse the date of the prime minister's visit.
The annual meeting of the forum, which is an independent international organization for public-private cooperation formed to improve the state of the world, is being held in Davos-Klosteet to focus on the theme of ‘globalization’.
Addressing a parliament session two weeks ago, Prime Minister Oli told the parliamentarians that he was participating in the WEF this year as a speaker.
“I take this invitation as international recognition of our democracy, stability and our journey toward development since this is the first time that a sitting prime minister of Nepal has received a formal invitation to address the forum,” he had said.
Concluding his week-long visit, Oli will return home on Jan 27.
Leaders and luminaries including Sir David Attenborough, Shinzo Abe, Angela Merkel, Prince William and Jacinda Ardern will gather in Davos for the event, according to a press release issued by the WEF.
They’re among around 3,000 participants drawn from all over the world and from every sphere of influence: business, government, civil society, academia, arts and culture, and media.
