Who Will Participate in 'Davos 2026' This Year?
PM Masrour Barzani joins Trump, Macron, and 3,000 leaders at Davos 2026. The forum focuses on dialogue amid global shifts, with record government and tech participation.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The 56th World Economic Forum (WEF) is set to convene in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos this week, gathering a record concentration of government officials and corporate executives to address global challenges under the theme "The Spirit of Dialogue." The summit, running from January 19 to January 23, 2026, will feature Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, among dozens of heads of state and influential policymakers.
The forum represents a significant milestone for international cooperation, bringing together nearly 3,000 leaders from various sectors representing 130 countries. According to data released by the organizers, this year’s event has secured a record level of government participation.
Approximately 400 top political leaders are expected to attend, a contingent that includes 65 heads of state and government, as well as six leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) nations. The agenda is designed to serve as a neutral platform to provoke ideas and reveal long-term solutions during a period characterized by profound geopolitical, technological, and social shifts.
Prime Minister Barzani joins a roster of high-profile leadership from the Americas and Europe. From the United States, President Donald Trump heads the delegation.
He is joined by counterparts from the Western Hemisphere including Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada; Javier Milei, President of Argentina; Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia; and Daniel Noboa, President of Ecuador. European leadership is equally well-represented, with attendees including Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Friedrich Merz, Federal Chancellor of Germany; Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; and Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain.
The gathering also includes Bart De Wever, Prime Minister of Belgium; Alexander Stubb, President of Finland; Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece; Micheál Martin, Prime Minister of Ireland; Dick Schoof, Prime Minister of the Netherlands; Guy Parmelin, President of the Swiss Confederation; Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland; Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia; and Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine.
The forum’s global reach is further evidenced by significant participation from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Key figures include Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar; Isaac Herzog, President of Israel; Mohammad Mustafa, Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority; and Ahmed Sharaa, President of Syria.
From Asia, the forum will host He Lifeng, Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China; Prabowo Subianto, President of Indonesia; Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan; and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of Singapore.
Other notable heads of state include Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Vahagn Khachaturyan of Armenia, Aziz Akhannouch of Morocco, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Daniel Francisco Chapo of Mozambique.
Beyond national governments, the event serves as a convening point for major international organizations. The United Nations is represented by Secretary-General António Guterres and Barham Salih, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Other key officials include Alexander De Croo of the UNDP, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the WHO, and Doreen Bogdan-Martin of the ITU. The global security and economic architecture will be represented by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, GCC Secretary General Jassem Al-Budaiwi, World Bank President Ajay S. Banga, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.
The private sector’s involvement is substantial, with nearly 1,700 business leaders scheduled to attend. This group includes approximately 850 Chief Executive Officers and world chairpersons, alongside nearly 100 leaders from "Unicorn" companies and designated "Technology Pioneers." The technology delegation features the heads of major firms including Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, and Dina Powell McCormick of Meta.
Innovators in artificial intelligence and robotics, such as Sarah Friar of OpenAI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, and Alex Karp of Palantir Technologies, will also be present to discuss the responsible application of transformative technologies.
Civil society participation ensures a diversity of perspectives, with attendees including David Miliband of the International Rescue Committee, Amitabh Behar of Oxfam International, and Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Religious and labor leaders, such as Mohammad Issa of the Muslim World League and Luc Triangle of the International Trade Union Confederation, will address the social dimensions of global change.
To ensure these discussions reach a global audience, more than 200 media outlets and news agencies will cover the activities, while young leaders from the "Global Shapers" community will present futuristic ideas and live experiences of ongoing changes.