The four day 50th World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland will begin on Tuesday. 53 heads of state or government from 117 countries are participating in the event.

The theme of this year’s WEF  is ‘Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World’. It emphasizes Forum Founder Klaus Schwab’s idea that managers have a duty to customers, suppliers and the wider economy, not just dividend-hungry shareholders.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal will lead the Indian delegation. Mr. Goyal will hold bilateral meetings with Ministers of Australia, South Africa, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Korea and Singapore.

Apart from this, he will also hold bilateral meetings with CEOs of companies and will also attend conferences for Accelerating Investments in Indian Railways and attracting Global Institutional Investments in India.

Besides business chiefs, Prince Charles will also be speaking on ‘saving the planet’. The views of German chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula Von del Leyen and Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng will also be closely watched.

Among other highlights of the forum is Indian actress Deepika Padukone, who will be given a WEF crystal award for her work on mental health while the US rapper William Adams will be talking about ending gun violence.

Union Minister of State for Shipping and Chemical and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya and Chief Ministers of the States of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are also attending the forum.