By Paul Kelso, business and economics correspondent
President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos next week at the head of the largest-ever US delegation to attend the annual meeting, including five cabinet members, and a host of congressional representatives and state governors.
The US leader will be one of at least 64 heads of state travelling to the Swiss mountain resort, including six out of seven G7 leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but is likely to monopolise attention and the agenda.
Downing Street has not confirmed if Sir Keir Starmer will be attending.
US Secretary of State Mark Rubio and Treasury secretary Scott Bessent will accompany Trump, along with his key international negotiators Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
President Zelenskyy will join EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Davos, with reports that a reconstruction deal for Ukraine may be agreed with the US during the week.
A large Chinese delegation will be led by vice-premier He Lifeng, who leads the country’s economic policy and heads the Central Financial Commission.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will attend and is scheduled to hold a roundtable with business leaders hosted by JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon, and to speak on a public panel.Â
The Treasury has characterised the trip as part of a renewed push to promote Britain as an investment destination around the world.
President Trump has not attended the WEF meeting in-person for six years, but gave a virtual address last year on the day following his inauguration, in which he set out the ‘America First’ approach that has upended global trade and foreign relations in the 12 months since.
The American intervention in Venezuela earlier this month, with its unapologetic focus on controlling the country’s oil, has heightened economic and political uncertainty, making Davos a potential forum for negotiation, and a guaranteed platform for Trump to underline his dominance of the international agenda.