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From Tuesday, hundreds of chief executives and financial tycoons are expected to be in Riyadh for a Davos-style investment conference that analysts say will highlight Saudi Arabia’s geopolitical strength despite tensions with the United States. The Future Investment Initiative (FII) was launched in 2017 The Economic Rise Party, the world’s largest crude exporter, is trying to diversify away from oil under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
However, the following year’s edition was largely overshadowed by Since journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed a few weeks ago, many potential representatives from outside the region have left. Attendance picks up in 2019even as some executives try to hide under the radar, flipping their business cards behind jackets or hiding behind ties, underscoring concerns about the reputational cost of doing business in the kingdom.
This year’s FII, often referred to as “Davos in the desert,” comes after Prince Mohammed’s months-long process of re-engagement with the West in which U.S. intelligence determined that Prince Mohammed had approved operations against Khashoggi – Riyadh Denied the allegation.
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The de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia hosted visits this year from then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and even the US President Joe Biden, who previously vowed to make Saudi Arabia a ‘untouchable’The meetings underscored the growing Saudi influence amid an energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The same goes for the lineup for the FII Tuesday-Thursday, with more than 6,000 delegates and 500 speakers, up 200 from the previous high. “The combination of the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and rising oil prices has given Saudi Arabia more geopolitical and economic clout this year than its first FII in 2017,” said researcher Kristian Ulrichsen. Baker Institute at Rice University.
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– not an “agenda” –
The FII Institute, which organized the conference, sought to build an identity beyond Prince Mohammed’s pet project. In addition to the flagship event in Riyadh, the work includes setting up an investment arm and hosting events in London and New York.
In a press conference previewing the upcoming gathering, FII Institute CEO Richard Artias stressed that FII is not a conference on Saudi Arabia, but “an international conference in Saudi Arabia. , showing that Riyadh and the kingdom are definitely becoming a global hub”.
Attendees included business leaders from Latin American countries that had not been represented in the past few years, as well as a “huge Chinese delegation” of more than 80 Chinese CEOs, Artias said. Artias, a former executive producer of the World Economic Forum in Davos, told AFP in an interview that he did not believe delegates were concerned about the reputational cost of attending the conference.
“I think we’ve really established the fact that we’re an independent agency. We don’t have any agenda. We’re here to help,” he said.
“I’m glad many business leaders think like me. We’re not ignoring the world’s problems. No one is ignoring that,” Artias said.
“But not by boycotting any platform, you can solve the world’s problems.”
– US-Saudi war of words –
While Atiyas wants to keep politics out of the meeting, global unrest is likely to come amid a sensitive dispute between Saudi Arabia and the United States over oil production cuts approved by OPEC, the Riyadh-Moscow-led cartel earlier this month. invasion.
The White House said the move amounted to an “alliance with Russia” in the Ukraine war, a claim Saudi officials have strenuously denied, saying the motive was economic rather than political.
FIIs typically attract U.S. government officials, especially former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in 2017, and Don Graves, the undersecretary of commerce under Biden last year. However, no U.S. officials were invited this year, which Artias said reflected a broader push to focus on business leaders rather than politicians. He noted that as many as 400 US CEOs are expected to attend.
The U.S. embassy in Riyadh did not respond to a request for comment on official U.S. involvement. Ulrichsen of the Baker Institute said he was not surprised that the U.S. private sector was well represented despite ongoing bilateral tensions. “I can imagine CEOs making the judgment that if Biden himself can go to Saudi Arabia after the Khashoggi murder, then so can they,” he said.
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