Coronavirus: Shangri-La Dialogue will go on even as World Economic Forum axes Singapore meeting
- The Swiss-based organisation said ‘uncertainty around new variants’ and differing vaccine roll-out speeds were among the reasons for the decision
- The next annual meeting will instead take place in the first half of 2022 at a location and date to be determined later this summer
“We are encouraged by the positive response to invitations” to the event, the Singapore government said in a statement late on Monday, adding those responses underscore “the strong commitment of government leaders in addressing security challenges even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin is expected to be among those attending the event, which focuses on global defence and security issues.
The event’s organiser also confirmed that the World Economic Forum’s decision did not affect its plans.
“We have a full line-up of ministers and other senior leaders from around the world planning to attend our event,” a spokeswoman for the event organiser said in a statement.
On Monday, the World Economic Forum said it would be calling off its event as countries worldwide continued battling the coronavirus.
“Regretfully, the tragic circumstances unfolding across geographies, an uncertain travel outlook, differing speeds of vaccination roll-out and the uncertainty around new variants combine to make it impossible to realise a global meeting with business, government and civil society leaders from all over the world at the scale which was planned,” it said in a statement.
The next annual meeting will instead take place in the first half of 2022. Its location and date will be determined based on an assessment of the situation later this summer, it added in a statement.