Australia took over the presidency of the G20 in December and Mr Abbott, still relatively unknown on the world stage, is hoping to use the three-day World Economic Forum in Davos to highlight his new government's economic reform agenda at the meeting.

The Prime Minister has warned he does not want the G20 meeting to be a 'talkfest' and said on Sunday before leaving Australia that it was "critically important that the G20 isn't simply a gathering of world leaders, but rather a year in which leaders can make a practical difference towards building a stronger and more prosperous global economy".

"It's my intention to showcase Australia, to argue for the policies of the new government and do my best to ensure that Australia is seen as an attractive place to invest and do business."

The guest list for the dinner Mr Abbott will address includes the chief executives of multinational giants including KPMG, DuPont, British Telecom, Royal Dutch Shell, ArcelorMittal, Dow Chemical and Russia's VTB Bank.

The annual Davos get together reads like a who's who of prime ministers and presidents, including Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe and British Prime Minister David Cameron – both of whom Mr Abbott has pencilled in meetings with -  as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon.

Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder – who chairs the 'B20' business taskforce, Telstra chief executive David Thodey and Fortescue Metals' chief executive Nev Power are among the Australian chief executives who will attend the event.

On Thursday night Mr Abbott will deliver a keynote address to the forum titled "Australia's vision for the G20".