By: D.K Choudhary
2017 World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting Held in Davos, Switzerland
i. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 was held in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland from January 17-20, 2017.The theme of 47th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 is Responsive and Responsible Leadership.
ii. The inaugural had musical concert by violinist Anne- Sophie Mutter.
iii. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched at World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos with $460-million funding to develop vaccines against 3 emerging highly-contagious and fatal diseases namely Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-coronavirus, Lassa fever, and Nipah virus.
iv. The annual WEF meeting concluded with a musical performance by Afghan’s first women Orchestra ‘Zohra’ on January 20, 2017 in Davos.
No More Visa-Free Facility for Indians in Hong Kong
i. Hong Kong has withdrawn the visa-on arrival facility for Indians travelling to Hong VisaKong effective from January 23, 2017.
ii. From now, the Indian nationals must apply for and successfully complete pre-arrival registration online before they can visit or transit the HKSAR visa-free.
iii. However for those Indians who are travelling in direct transit by air via Hong Kong and not leaving the Hong Kong airport transit area would not require pre-arrival registration.
vi. The Pre-Arrival Registration is valid for a six-month period or until the expiry date of the Indian passport linked to it, whichever is earlier.
v. Indians were till now permitted by Hong Kong to enter with valid passport for a period up to 14 days without a visa. But the facility has been withdrawn since the number of Indian asylum seekers was on the rise for business, trade and holiday purpose.
