Bolsonaro no longer to attend World Economic Forum in Switzerland

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro decided to call off his trip to Davos for the World Economic Forum, which is slated to take place from January 21 through 24. The decision was reported Wednesday by the president’s spokesman Otávio Rêgo Barros.

The move comes amid the escalating tensions in the Middle East in recent days, following an attack by the US Armed Forces in Iraq, which led to the death of one of Iran’s most important righ-ranking military officials, General Qassem Soleimani.

“The president and his team of advisers consider a number of economic, security, and political aspects. The combination of these is submitted to the president for appreciation, and this led him to conclude that he wouldn’t be taking part in the forum at this moment,” Rêgo Barros told journalists in an interview at the Planalto presidential palace. “It’s not for security reasons alone,” he added.

The trip to India has been kept unchanged, Barros said. Bolsonaro is a special guest for the celebrations of India’s Republic Day, celebrated on January 26. The president is expected to land in the country on January 24 or 25, and to return on 28, but the full schedule is yet to be finished.