Gov. Brian Kemp

ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp likes to tout how his smart shepherding of state resources and track record landing major economic development projects helped make Georgia a success story during the pandemic.

He’s about to get a chance to tell that story on an international stage. Kemp’s office announced Wednesday he will be addressing the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week.

“Governor Kemp looks forward to traveling to Davos to share with leaders how the state of Georgia’s long record of conservative governance, protecting individual liberty, and championing opportunity can serve as a model for economic success across the country and around the world,” a Kemp spokesperson said Wednesday.

The World Economic Forum, established in 1971, brings together decision-makers from across the globe to share strategies and inform each other on policy initiatives around the world. The annual event is a Who’s Who of global political and business leaders, economists and other academics.

This year’s list of attendees includes former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry – now the Biden administration’s special envoy for climate – FBI Director Christopher Wray, a sprinkling of corporate CEOs, and several other governors, congressmen, and U.S. senators.

Kemp’s office did not release details of the trip Wednesday or Kemp’s planned remarks.

This will be Kemp’s first trip overseas since he was reelected to a second term last fall. During his first term, he traveled to South Korea and Germany on trade missions.

This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.