Heads of state and business leaders to attend Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, assalamu alaykum
Assalamu alaykum - A lot of well-known leaders are expected at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh next week. Confirmed guests include Ahmad Al-Sharaa, president of Syria; Han Zheng, vice president of China; Shehbaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan; Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda; and Edi Rama, prime minister of Albania.
Richard Attias, chair of the FII Institute Executive Committee, announced the program for the ninth edition and said he expects many major deals across sectors like energy and infrastructure. He mentioned he’s confident this year could surpass 2024, when deals worth more than $70 billion were signed.
The FII Institute will also introduce a new ventures program to support startups focused on social or environmental impact. Attias said they reviewed more than 750 tech startups, many in AI, and plan to help them grow, gain recognition, create jobs, and become new success stories. He noted the institute invested over $6 million in recent years and portfolio companies have since raised more than $87 million, creating over 2,000 jobs so far.
Prominent business and investment figures attending include Laura Cha, Ruth Porat, Eric Schmidt, Jane Fraser, Ray Dalio, and Evan Spiegel, among others. High-profile attendees from the public sector are Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Yasir Al-Rumayyan of the Public Investment Fund, UK chancellor Rachel Reeves, Muhammad Yunus, Kirill Dmitriev, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike.
Attias stressed the FII’s progress since 2017, saying nearly $200 billion in real contracts have been signed across areas like logistics, AI, clean energy, and mobility finance. He recalled anticipating $20–$25 billion last year but seeing more than $60 billion finalized, and hopes this year will break records again.
For the first time the conference expects more than 20 heads of state, Attias added, noting the list is still growing. Around 8,000 delegates, 600 speakers and 56 strategic partners are expected to take part in over 250 sessions, with strong representation from the tech sector as major AI and technology companies increasingly attend.
The ninth Future Investment Initiative conference will be held in Riyadh from Oct. 27–30.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/