Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (R) and Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz attend the Opening Plenary of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 in Davos January 28, 2009. More than 40 heads of state and government -- almost double the number last year -- will be joined at the WEF meeting by 36 finance ministers and central bankers, including the central bank chiefs of all the G8 group of rich countries except the United States. [Agencies]