India an Image of Promise and Optimism: WEF Chairman

Founder and Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June last year.

(Photo: IANS)

India presents an image of promise and the remarkable pace of "bold and structural" reforms have boosted its macroeconomic fundamentals while enhancing long- term economic outlook, founder chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab has said.

In an article, Schwab said that India "will undoubtedly have a great role and influence in shaping our common future by enriching the global policy debate as well as assisting in designing and developing better policies for a prosperous world."

The article, part of the WEF annual meeting, was retweeted by Modi from his personal handle @narendramodi.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018 will take place later this month in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme ‘Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World’.

Schwab expressed delight at hosting Modi at the annual summit of the WEF at Davos.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Switzerland on 22 January on a two-day visit during which he will deliver the keynote address at the plenary session of the WEF.

Schwab noted that Modi is the first prime minister from India to attend the meeting in the last two decades.

He wrote that, “India presents an image of optimism and promise.”

"Its unique demographic dividend, rising tide of entrepreneurial spirit, breakthrough innovations across sectors, and remarkable pace of bold and structural reforms have boosted the macroeconomic fundamentals and enhanced India's long-term economic outlook," Schwab wrote.

He also appreciated India expanding its leadership in a wide range of global initiatives.

Schwab noted that India's leading role at the Paris climate agreement and International Solar Alliance, and efforts to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the Nuclear Suppliers Group demonstrate a quest for a more pivotal role in global geopolitics.

Praising Prime Minister Modi's credo of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', Schwab said India's extraordinary achievements "corroborate that the country possesses a robust institutional mechanism for deftly counterbalancing pervasive diversity while projecting a single identity."