WEF Davos 2026: Indian envoy Mridul Kumar meets World Bank President Ajay Banga

Zurich: India's Ambassador to Switzerland Mridul Kumar met World Bank Group President Ajay Banga at Zurich Airport as he arrived to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos.

In a post on X, the Indian mission said, "A pleasant meeting at Zurich Airport today while receiving Indian dignitaries! Amb Kumar had the opportunity to meet Mr. Ajay Banga, President of @WorldBank, arriving for WEF Annual Meeting in Davos."



The mission said the brief interaction also touched upon India's development agenda and cooperation with the World Bank. "Brief but warm exchange on India's development priorities & our partnership with the World Bank."

The meeting comes as the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2026 begins in Davos today, with India set to push its investment and growth story before global investors, policymakers and business leaders.

The five-day summit is being held under the theme "A Spirit of Dialogue", amid slowing global growth, geopolitical frictions, rapid technological change and growing concerns around rebuilding trust between nations.

The WEF Annual Meeting is considered one of the most influential global platforms, bringing together heads of state, ministers, central bankers, chief executives, entrepreneurs, academics and civil society leaders. It provides space for global discussions on the economy, technology, climate change, governance and long-term policy direction.

For India, Davos has remained a key venue to highlight reform momentum, policy stability and openness to global investment, with this year's participation featuring strong political as well as corporate representation.

India's delegation at Davos 2026 includes four Union ministers -- Ashwini Vaishnaw, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Pralhad Joshi and K Rammohan Naidu -- reflecting India's focus on infrastructure, manufacturing, energy and digital transformation.

Six chief ministers are also attending to present state-level investment opportunities: Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), N Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Mohan Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), A Revanth Reddy (Telangana) and Hemant Soren (Jharkhand).

The participation of Assam and Jharkhand is being seen as significant as eastern India seeks to showcase fast-growing state economies, mineral wealth and industrial potential.

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and senior delegations from Uttar Pradesh and Kerala are also taking part in the summit.

On the corporate side, India has sent one of its largest business delegations to Davos, with more than 100 senior leaders from the banking, technology, manufacturing, start-up and renewable energy sectors participating.

Key Indian corporate participants include Mukesh Amb(Reliance Industries), N Chandrasekaran (Tata Group), Sanjiv Bajaj (Bajaj Group), Hari S Bhartia (Jubilant Bhartia Group), Sudarshan Venu (TVS Motor) and Anish Shah (Mahindra Group).

Other business leaders attending include Amitabh Chaudhry (Axis Bank), Nadir Godrej (Godrej Industries Group), Sajjan Jindal (JSW Group), Nikhil Kamath (Zerodha), Sunil Bharti Mittal (Bharti Group), Nandan Nilekani and Salil S Parekh (Infosys), Rishad Premji (Wipro), Prashant Ruia (Essar), Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Paytm), and Sumant Sinha (ReNew).

India's key pitch at WEF 2026 is that it is "open for business", aiming to attract global partnerships and strengthen its position in international value chains.

India is expected to focus on manufacturing and supply chain diversification, infrastructure expansion, digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, clean energy and energy transition, and long-term capital flows.

This year's push is centred on sustaining investor confidence, strengthening engagement and converting interest into longer-term investments.

More than 3,000 global leaders are attending the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.