Singapore to host World Economic Forum in 2021

The World Economic Forum (WEF 2021) will be moved from Davos in Switzerland to Singapore due to COVID-19 concerns. The organisers announced the decision on December 7, 2020. 

The annual gathering will be moved out of Europe next year, as the organisers feel that the COVID-19 pandemic will make it challenging to host the event safely in Europe. The WEF is an annual gathering of political and business leaders. 

This is only the second time since its inception in 1971 that the event, which is usually held in January at Davos, will be hosted outside Switzerland. It will be held in Asia for the first time. 

When will WEF 2021 be held?

The WEF organisers released a statement saying that the World Economic Forum will convene the Special Annual Meeting 2021 in Singapore from May 13-16, 2021. The forum will return to Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, for the Annual Meeting 2022.

Why was Singapore chosen as the host for WEF 2021?

According to WEF president Borge Brende, the health and safety concerns linked to the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe made it impossible to organise the meeting in Lucerne-Buergenstock as it was initially planned. Singapore was chosen as the new venue for WEF 2021 after careful consideration, as it has been largely successful in dealing with the pandemic.

The organisers had already decided in October to shift the annual meeting from the Alpine ski resort of Davos to Buergenstock in central Switzerland. 

Key Highlights 

•Shifting the venue to Singapore will allow an in-person meeting, marking the first in-person global leadership event to address worldwide recovery from the pandemic.

•However, the WEF event would also have a special virtual component to allow for greater participation given travel restrictions posed by coronavirus outbreak.

•Singapore, a city-state has kept its borders largely shut for most of the year 2020. The nation won international praises for its way of handling of the virus, which included rigorous contact tracing and strict quarantine rules.

•Previously, a plan was made to open a quarantine-free air travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong last month but it was abandoned at the last moment.

•Singapore Trade Minister Chan Chun Sing said in a statement that despite the ongoing pandemic, we are confident that Singapore will be able to continue maintaining public health and safety while supporting the WEF's mission to effect positive change through collaboration and engagement.

What are the planned safety measures?

Singapore has planned various virus safety measures including on-arrival tests, pre-event and periodic antigen testing, as well as contact tracing of attendees.

Background

Singapore has in the past played host to key meetings, the most significant of which was the historic meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un in 2018.