The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced the cancellation of his anticipated trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, scheduled to take place between January 19 and 23 in the Swiss resort of Davos-Klosters. The decision, communicated by official spokespeople, responds to the need to concentrate all government efforts on preparing for a crucial bilateral meeting with the president of the United States, Donald Trump, which will take place on February 3 in Washington, D.C.
Petro’s absence from one of the most important international forums for global politics and economics marks a shift in his diplomatic agenda at the start of the year, underscoring the importance of a meeting with Trump that will shape the immediate future of diplomatic relations between the two countries after a year of deep disagreements.
The intention expressed by the Colombian president is to devote time and resources to fine-tuning the strategy for dialogue with the U.S. administration, following a year marked by tensions over issues such as migration, the fight against drug trafficking, and the situation in Venezuela.
Colombia’s Petro scraps Davos trip to prioritize meeting with Trump
Official sources confirmed that Petro had been invited to take part in the panel titled “The Unstoppable March of Renewable Energies,” alongside journalists and experts from various countries, and that this participation was one of the initial reasons for considering the trip to Europe. However, the Casa de Nariño decided that preparations for the meeting with Trump deserved priority attention, which led to the cancellation of the agenda in Switzerland.
The president had been invited to the 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, which will bring together leading government, business, and civil society figures from January 19 to 23. This is the second time President Petro will not attend this forum. Leaders confirmed to attend include Javier Milei (Argentina), Volodymyr Zelensky (Ukraine), Donald Trump (United States), and Pedro Sánchez (Spain). However, others such as Claudia Sheinbaum (Mexico) announced days ago that she would not participate in this year’s meeting.
What is certain is that the February 3 meeting at the White House is marked in red on the political agenda of the president and the government. The meeting with Trump is seen by the Colombian government as an opportunity to redirect bilateral relations between Bogotá and Washington, which have gone through complex moments in recent months.
After public exchanges and sharp disagreements over security and cooperation policies, the meeting will test the ability of both leaders to steer the relationship back on course and establish concrete agreements, especially on issues sensitive to Colombia’s internal stability.
Although Davos brings together heads of state, business leaders, and global civil society figures to debate the economy, innovation, and geopolitical challenges, Petro’s absence leaves a gap in Latin American representation at a forum that this year has confirmed the presence of leaders such as Trump himself and other heads of state from the region.
Environmental protection at the Davos Forum
Gustavo Petro attended the Davos forum in 2023, during his first year in office, where he focused his speech on the fight against climate change and proposed swapping debt for environmental services to the richest and most polluting countries of the Global North.
In his speech three years ago, the Colombian president argued that current industries had shown their inability to halt climate change, which is why he believed a shift in the macroeconomic paradigm of the global economy was necessary, introducing a concept he refers to as “decarbonized capitalism.”
In his second participation, in 2024, Petro took part in three specific panels: the Amazon issue, the Latin America panel, and global democracy challenges. He also inaugurated the controversial “Casa Colombia” in Davos, a space rented by the national government for four days to promote the country’s image during the event. The cost of this tourism promotion infrastructure, slightly more than US$1 million, prompted strong criticism from the political opposition.
In 2025, the Colombian president did not participate in Davos amid a call for state austerity, although Petro continued to maintain environmentalism as one of the main pillars of his international policy. Nevertheless, the return of Donald Trump to the White House—with his climate change denialist policies—complicates Colombia’s proposals to swap debt for climate action.