Since taking office for his third term in 2023, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has not yet attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he was a frequent figure and, at times, a protagonist, in several occasions of his early administrations. And, as it appears, he is also set to miss it in 2026.
Among the top-tier names in the Brazilian government, the official schedule this year only includes the Planning Minister, Simone Tebet.
Lula had already dropped hints about his absence in an interview at the end of last year, when he stated that he would have few international trips in 2026, as he would devote more time to domestic agendas due to the presidential election.
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The president confirmed that he will go to India with a delegation of businessmen in February, a trip that will be completed in South Korea, where he is expected to discuss the opening of the local market for Brazilian beef. In April, he is also expected to attend the Hannover Industrial Fair in Germany.
With this, Lula is expected to opt to send a representative to Davos, as has happened in 2023 (Fernando Haddad), 2024 (Marina Silva, Nísia Trindade and Alexandre Silveira), and 2025 (with Silveira again, in addition to the then-President of the Supreme Federal Court, Luís Roberto Barroso).
The chosen one was Simone Tebet, who is expected to participate on Wednesday (21) in the panel “Breaking Through Latin America’s Growth Ceiling,” alongside Julio Velarde, president of Peru’s Central Bank; Altagracia Gómez Sierra, coordinator of the Business Advisory Council, Office of the Presidency of Mexico; Juan Carlos Mora, executive director of Bancolombia; Ilan Goldfajn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); and Gillian R. Tett, Rector of King’s College, University of Cambridge.
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Davos Focuses on Cooperation and Dialogue
This year’s Forum is scheduled to take place from January 19 to 23 and is expected to bring together a record 400 high-level political leaders, including about 65 heads of state and government – among them, six G7 leaders are anticipated.
In addition, around 850 of the world’s top CEOs and presidents of companies are expected, and nearly 100 major unicorns and technology pioneers will be present.
The main theme chosen is “A Spirit of Dialogue,” an attempt to emphasize the importance of global focus on cooperation even in the face of the arguably most complex geopolitical landscape of the past decades – marked by growing fragmentation and rapid technological changes.
“Dialogue is not a luxury in times of uncertainty; it is an urgent necessity,” said recently Børge Brende, president and CEO of the World Economic Forum. “At a pivotal moment for international cooperation – marked by profound geoeconomic and technological transformation – this year’s Annual Meeting will be among the most significant,” he predicted.
In the afternoon of Wednesday (the 21st), a speech by President Donald Trump is expected, who promised to bring to Davos his top Secretaries of State. American newspapers said that the U.S. President conditioned his trip on a promise that topics of the so-called “woke agenda” would not be on the official program.
A little later on the same day, Argentina’s President Javier Milei will also speak. He has already promised to reprise his criticisms of last year’s progressive issues (“socialists,” in his definition) and of other topics dear to the left such as immigration, environmental protection, feminism, and diversity.
Milei is not on the roster of heads of state who will debate on the eve the theme “Rebuilding Trust in Latin America.” Confirmed for the panel are: José Raúl Mulino Quintero, President of Panama; Daniel Noboa Azín, President of Ecuador; and Raquel Peña, Vice President of the Dominican Republic.
