By Elishya Perera
SINGAPORE (CWBN)_ As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Europe, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has decided to hold its 2021 annual meeting in Singapore, instead of its traditional home of Switzerland.
The WEF said the meeting will be held in the Asian financial hub from May 13 to 16, and will return to Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, the following year.
According to Singapore’s Ministry of trade and Industry, the gathering, which attracts political leaders and high-profile individuals from economics and finance across the globe, will also include a virtual component to encourage greater participation.
It is reported that Singapore was chosen owing to its relatively low number of COVID-19 infections, as well as the country’s recent experiments in conducting large-scale conferences.
“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,” Chan Chun Sing, Singapore’s minister for trade and industry, said in a statement.
According to Singapore’s Ministry of Health, the overall number of domestic infections has remained low, with a total of two new cases in the past week. Switzerland on the other hand has seen a significant rise in infections reporting about 54,000 new cases in the past couple of weeks.
