Donald Trump plans to attend Davos next year in boost to Switzerland

Trump is planning to travel to Switzerland with a large entourage, according to people familiar with the plans who didn’t want to be named discussing them in public. Trump didn’t attend January’s edition of the meeting, held shortly after his inauguration, and instead spoke to attendees by video link. His presence would be a boon for the Forum after a rocky year for the organization.

A White House official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that while expectations were that the president would return to the global forum, plans had not been completely finalized and could still change.

“The World Economic Forum has invited the heads of government and state of the G-20 and other countries to the Annual Meeting 2026,” the Geneva-based organization said in a statement. “This includes President Trump. The exact list of confirmed participants will be published one week before the start of the Annual Meeting.”

For the Swiss government, an appearance by Trump would present a chance to reset relations with the White House as the country’s executive is taken over by Economy Minister Guy Parmelin. He is set to assume the rotating Swiss presidency from Karin Keller-Sutter on Jan. 1.

Keller-Sutter this year failed to conclude a trade deal with her US counterpart. After a heated phone call between the two leaders, Trump decided to impose 39% tariffs on Swiss exports, the highest of any advanced economy. The levies have been in effect since August, and Swiss officials have sought to renegotiate since then.

The relationship has recently improved, with Trump responding positively to a lobbying campaign by a group of Swiss billionaires and business leaders who appealed to him during an Oval Office meeting earlier this month. Swiss negotiators arrived in Washington on Wednesday night with an eye toward finalizing a deal that would lower tariffs after their government signed off on a draft agreement. They are scheduled to meet Thursday with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

An appearance by the US president, who attended Davos during his first presidency in 2018, would also be a major boost for the Forum, which first lured business executives to Davos back in 1971. While it remains the prime global gathering of decisionmakers and is widely regarded as a must-attend event for bankers, business leaders and politicians alike, it has struggled this year with a scandal centered on allegations of financial improprieties by founder Klaus Schwab.

Schwab was cleared of any wrongdoing in an independent probe, the Forum said in August, while acknowledging the need for reform of its governance. The Forum named BlackRock Inc.’s Larry Fink and Roche Holding AG’s vice chairman Andre Hoffmann as interim leaders who will together oversee the event in January.