New Delhi: For the first time in nearly a decade, Pakistan will have a pavilion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos next week, and that too not an official one. It will be run by a Pakistan-based private group.
Nevertheless, the Pakistani delegation will be the biggest in recent years, with the core delegation led by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, along with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
Former foreign minister and Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will also be present, along with Awais Ahmed Leghari, the power minister and Ataullah Tarar, the I&B minister. Also part of the delegation are leaders of business, energy, banking, technology and civil society like the Dawood Foundation, the Engro Group and Zarrar Sehgal, the Chairman of Pathfinder group—the company handling Pakistan’s presence at WEF for years.
Sharif who came to power in October 2024 was not part of the forum in 2025, which was represented by Muhammad Aurangzeb. The official page has no mention of Pakistan’s presence at WEF 2025. The Pakistani government had also refused to disclose the exact size of the delegation last year.
The five-day summit, beginning 19 January and being held under the theme of ‘A Spirit of Dialogue’ will see nearly 3,000 leaders from more than 130 countries in attendance, including around 65 heads of state or government. US President Donald Trump is scheduled to lead what the forum has described as the largest-ever American delegation.
Among others expected to be present are Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and China’s Vice-Premier He Lifeng among others.
The invitation to Pakistan was extended by WEF President and CEO Børge Brende during a meeting with Shehbaz Sharif held in Riyadh on the sidelines of the 9th Future Investment Initiative (FII) in 2025, according to the WEF.
The meeting, requested by the WEF leadership, focused on strengthening Pakistan’s engagement with the global forum and enhancing collaboration across business, investment, and innovation domains.
Pakistan’s footprint in Davos
While official invitations refer to a ‘Pakistan pavilion’, sources familiar with the forum say it is not a state-run installation. Instead, it is being organised by the Pathfinder Group, a Pakistan-based company that is a strategic partner of the World Economic Forum and has facilitated Pakistan-linked programming at Davos in past years.
“The main WEF plenary is extremely exclusive,” said one Pakistan-based source familiar with the arrangements. “Heads of state and top executives of global firms. The pavilions nearby are expensive, and developing countries usually don’t set them up.”
Pakistan, the source added, is relying on private-sector partners to maintain visibility without bearing the full cost or protocol of an official national pavilion. The government, he added, “doesn’t mind”.
This arrangement mirrors last year’s participation. In 2025, Pakistan did not formally attend the annual meeting but took part in side events and private gatherings. A 2025 Dawn report had criticised the non-disclosure of spending at WEF.
“Without details on the government’s cost for the four-day event at the Alpine resort hosting the global elite, it is difficult to assess its utility, especially for a country that narrowly averted financial collapse last year with multilateral and bilateral donor support,” the report had noted.
Pakistan does not figure on any of the main plenary sessions listed on the WEF programme list.
On January 22, Finance Minister Aurangzeb will serve as chief guest at a ‘Digital Pakistan Breakfast’ at a Davos hotel, focusing on technology, investment and innovation. A day earlier, another session will spotlight women’s empowerment, financial inclusion and family healthcare in Pakistan.
Again, this follows a similar pattern. Last year, Aurangzeb was the chief guest at an ‘Investment in Pakistan’ lunch, where he pitched economic reforms, market opportunities and fiscal stabilisation for international investors.
The Shehbaz Sharif-led government in 2025 described its Davos interactions as “fruitful”, citing economic, diplomatic and image-related gains aligned with national priorities.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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