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SINGAPORE: The World Economic Forum (WEF) team, including its founder and CEO Klaus Schwab, are in Singapore to prepare for the Special Annual Meeting in August.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (February 9), Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said that he had an extensive discussion with the WEF team on a variety of topics.
These include the “urgent need” to address the economic and social challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Singapore will continue to work closely with the WEF to host a safe and successful meeting that addresses the global challenges of fighting the pandemic and supporting the global economic recovery,” said Mr. Chan.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) team is in Singapore to prepare for the Special Annual Meeting scheduled for August. (Photo: Chan Chun Sing / Facebook)
The six-member WEF team, Professor Schwab, his wife, WEF President Borge Brende and three other WEF officials, arrived in Singapore over the weekend.
WEF media chief Yann Zopf, who was part of the team in Singapore, told CNA that the visit is carried out under “very strict protocol.”
The team conducted COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests prior to departure, as well as another PCR test and a blood test upon arrival in Singapore. They were isolated in their rooms at Marina Bay Sands while they awaited the test results.
“We were only allowed to leave our hotel rooms once the negative tests were confirmed,” Zopf said, adding that the WEF team also submitted an itinerary of all their meetings to the authorities in advance.
“We are not allowed to go around as tourists and visit the city. We can only stick to our itinerary, ”he added.
READ: The special annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Singapore rescheduled for August
The Special Annual Meeting was recently rescheduled for August starting in May, and the WEF said current global travel restrictions have made it difficult to plan an in-person meeting in the first half of this year.
“Additionally, different air transport and quarantine regulations have increased the waiting time required to ensure that participants globally can make arrangements to join,” the WEF said in a press release earlier this month.
The Special Annual Meeting in Singapore will be the first global leadership summit to address the challenges of recovering from the pandemic, the WEF said. The meeting is usually held in Davos, Switzerland.
