Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A Special Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Singapore was cancelled, the organizers said in a statement.

The statement said that the World Economic Forum has been preparing a Special Annual Meeting in Singapore to take place just three months from now.

“Regretfully, the tragic circumstances unfolding across geographies, an uncertain travel outlook, differing speeds of vaccination rollout and the uncertainty around new variants combine to make it impossible to realise a global meeting with business, government and civil society leaders from all over the world at the scale which was planned. This is despite the excellent support provided by the Government of Singapore,” it added.

“The next Annual Meeting will instead take place in the first half of 2022. Final location and date will be determined based on an assessment of the situation later this summer,” the statement reads.

“It was a difficult decision, particularly in view of the great interest of our partners to come together not just virtually but in person, and to contribute to a more resilient, more inclusive and more sustainable world,” said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. “But ultimately the health and safety of everyone concerned is our highest priority.”

“We will continue to engage our increasing number of partners into our numerous work streams addressing the key issues on the global agenda through public private cooperation,” the statement added.