India, Feb. 26 -- Borge Brende, president and CEO of the World Economic Forum, said on Thursday that he would step down, weeks after the organisation initiated an independent investigation into his past interactions with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Brende, who assumed the presidency of the World Economic Forum in 2017, announced his decision in a statement after disclosures from the US Justice Department revealed that the Norwegian had attended three business dinners with Jeffrey Epstein and had communicated with him via email and text messages.

"After careful consideration, I have decided to step down as President and CEO of the World Economic Forum. My time here, spanning 8-1/2 years, has been profoundly rewarding," he sai...