Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) is to proceed as planned despite the withdrawal of speakers and partners following the controversy over the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The conference, dubbed the 'Davos in the Desert', aims to attract investment into Saudi Arabia as part of the kingdom's Vision 2030 economic programme.

The event is to be held from 23-25 October at the Ritz Carlton and King Abdul Aziz Conference Centre in Riyadh.

In a statement on 12 October, the event organisers said: “Whilst it is disappointing that some speakers and partners have pulled out, we are looking forward to welcoming thousands of speakers, moderators and guests from all over the world to Riyadh."

Withdrawals

The statement followed the withdrawal from the event of several high-profile business figures including the founder of the UK's Virgin Group Richard Branson, the CEO of ride-hailing company Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, and the CEO of media group Viacom, Robert Bakish. LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, former AOL chief Steve Case and Andy Rubin, developer of the Android operating system, also withdrew from the event.

Media partners including the New York Times, CNBC, Bloomberg, the Financial Times and The Economist have pulled out of the event, while Arianna Huffington, CEO of Thrive Global and an advisory board member for FII, also cut ties with event.

World Bank president Jim Yong Kim also cancelled his attendance.

Investment projects

FII follows the high-profile launch event in 2017 that featured the unveiling of several major investment initiatives, such as the flagship $500bn Neom project, and the Red Sea Project to develop 50 luxury tourism islands off Saudi Arabia's west coast.

The event is expected to attract senior politicians and leading investors and business people from around the world, including Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, both of whom are advisory board members for the event.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on 12 October that he would attend the conference. UK International Trade Secretary Liam Fox is also expected to attend the conference.

On 13 October, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said that she also planned to attend.

Riyadh has strongly denied media reports that it was involved in Khashoggi's disappearance, describing them as “lies and baseless allegations."