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Donald Trump to attend Davos forum

January 9, 2018

Donald Trump will become the first US president since Bill Clinton in 2000 to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month. How will his "America First" message play to an audience of global elites?

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An armed Swiss police officer stands on a roof top during the 'World Economic Forum' in Davos
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Euler

US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos later this month, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed Tuesday.

The annual gathering of the world's business and financial elite is scheduled to take place January 23-26, with the theme "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World." 

On the forum's website, it says it "aims to rededicate leaders from all walks of life to developing a shared narrative to improve the state of the world."

Read more: Davos: The crisis of the middle class

Trump: 'We are making America great again'

Sanders said the president welcomed the opportunity to promote his "America First" agenda with world leaders.

She added that Trump wants to promote his policies for strengthening American businesses, industries and workers.

It is rare for American presidents to attend. Former Vice President Joe Biden attended last year. The last US president to go in person was Bill Clinton. Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama did not attend while in office.

Weltwirtschaftsforum Davos Bill Clinton
Former President Bill Clinton at the World Economic Forum in 2009.Image: AP

The Global Economic Forum was founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a business professor at the University of Geneva.

The event promotes international trade and offers a high-level networking opportunity.

av/rt (AP, dpa)