Annual Davos meeting to draw in record number of participants

According to WEF, its annual gathering, scheduled to be held from January 21 to 24 at Davos in northeastern Switzerland, would draw over 2,500 participants from more than 140 countries and regions representing business, government, international organizations, academia, civil society and the media. WEF did not disclose the list of participants in Tuesday's statement but noted that the announcement would be made next week at its pre-event press briefing, Xinhua reports. With a theme of "The New Global Context", this year's meeting in the renowned ski resort will explore the most pressing global challenges in 2015, as a new year starts with scenarios including a dimming situation in eurozone, the plunging of oil price and the rouble crisis. "The Annual Meeting, by bringing together the Forum's diverse multi-stakeholder community, aims to provide the means to identify answers to these challenges as well as the coalitions of partners necessary to create positive, transformative change," said Klaus Schwab, Founder of WEF, in the statement.