Trump's plan to attend annual Davos meeting creates uncertain Swiss buzz

GENEVA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The announcement that U.S. President Donald Trump is to attend the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos this year has created a buzz of surprise and uncertainty in Switzerland.

Announcing that Trump will attend the Jan. 23-26 meeting in Davos-Klosters, the WEF said, "The engagement of the [U.S.] President will allow participants to get a direct perspective on U.S. political and economic priorities."

Switzerland's leading newspaper, the Neue Zuricher Zeitung (NZZ), noted that "quite unequivocally" the WEF forum runs against Trump's policies, which the newspaper said seek to "restrict free trade, and see environmental protection as excessive."

The NZZ said it does not view the U.S. president's presence at the annual forum in Switzerland as "a departure from Trump's inward-looking, anti-globalist economic policy."

The theme of this year's meeting is "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World" and the Swiss daily newspaper Tages Anzeiger carried a heading noting that this clashes with Trump's "America First" policy.

It said, however, his presence is an opportunity for Swiss leaders to engage with their American counterparts.

Le Temps, another leading Swiss Newspaper in the French-speaking parts of the country, noted that, "The arrival of the highly protectionist U.S. president at the open market trade forum has surprised Swiss observers, and it poses a security challenge."

Trump will be only the second U.S. president to attend Davos after the then U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2000.

Swiss President Alain Berset said he is interested in talking with Trump at Davos.

At the WEF, Trump wants to "do business," said Martin Naville, head of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, speaking on the Swiss national television channel SRF. "Trump wants to be the center of attention at this WEF," and in Davos, he will come to "show what America can do." Enditem