Davos: Lutfey Siddiqi, Chief Adviser's Special Envoy on International Affairs, represented Bangladesh at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting held last week in Davos, Switzerland. At the invitation of Borge Brende, CEO of the Forum and former Foreign Minister of Norway, Siddiqi contributed to key discussions on global challenges and opportunities, drawing on and showcasing Bangladesh's recent experiences.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, apart from public panels where he spoke on the topics of economic development, finance and investment, social movement and reforms, Siddiqi was also called to share insights at high-level roundtables. These discussions included geopolitics, chaired by President of Finland Alexander Stubbs; job creation, chaired by President of the World Bank Ajay Banga; gender-inclusive policy, chaired by President of Honduras Daniel Noboa; and Myanmar, chaired by President of East Timor Jose Ramos-Horta. Furthermore, Siddiqi participated in a workshop with trade ministers from ASEAN and East Asia, chaired by Professor Ricardo Hausmann.
On the sidelines, Siddiqi engaged in several formal and informal bilateral meetings with high-profile individuals. These included US Treasury Secretary and member of President Trump's cabinet, Scott Bessent; EU Commissioners Roxana Minzatu and Jozef Sikela; Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow; South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo; Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Akazawa Ryosei; Canadian Finance Minister Francois Philippe-Champagne; Egyptian Economy Minister Dr Rania Al-Mashat; and UAE State Minister for Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.
Siddiqi also met with Director General of WTO Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of WHO Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of IOM Amy Pope, Secretary General of UNCTAD Rebeca Grynspan, UN Special Envoy on Myanmar Julie Bishop, UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, Chair of Global Commission on Human Trafficking Theresa May, and CEO of International Rescue Committee David Miliband. Additionally, he held discussions with the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Dr Harini Amarasuriya, which was attended by Sri Lanka's Labour Minister Anil Fernando.
Furthermore, Siddiqi exchanged greetings and provided brief updates on Bangladesh with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, IMF President Kristalina Georgieva, Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Governor of California Gavin Newsom, Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear, and Saudi Ambassador to the USA Princess Reema, among others.
Siddiqi also conducted a series of meetings with officials from global private companies, including Meta, PayPal, DP World, and Louis Dreyfus. Throughout the week, he was accompanied by Abdullah Mahabub, First Secretary at the Bangladesh mission in Geneva.