Saudi Arabia has postponed its flagship annual investment conference, known as “Davos in the Desert,” to 2027 following a series of deadly Houthi attacks on the kingdom.
Organizers at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute announced the delay of the conference’s milestone tenth edition, which had been scheduled for Oct. 26-29 in Riyadh.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels recently escalated their campaign against Saudi Arabia, carrying out multiple strikes including attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
Those airport strikes killed at least 12 people and wounded hundreds more, marking one of the most significant escalations in the decade-plus Yemeni civil war.
FII Institute CEO Dr. Maha bint Mishari Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family, issued a statement explaining the reasoning behind the decision to delay.
“This decision comes from a deep commitment to our partners, members, speakers, and delegates,” Al Saud said in the statement announcing the postponement.
“Because this is our landmark tenth edition, we want to ensure it delivers the full scale, extraordinary quality, and unforgettable impact that our community has come to expect and truly deserves,” she added.
Al Saud confirmed that new dates for the rescheduled conference would be announced “soon,” signaling that the event remains a priority for Saudi leadership.
The conference had assembled a high-profile roster of speakers from global finance and technology, reflecting the kingdom’s deep ties to Western capital markets.
Confirmed speakers included Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Meta President Dina Powell McCormick, and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon.
BlackRock (BLK) CEO Larry Fink and Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO David Solomon were also among those slated to appear at the Riyadh gathering.
The “Davos in the Desert” label draws a direct comparison to the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, one of the world’s most prominent convocations of business and political leaders.
The conference is a central pillar of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s broader strategy to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from its reliance on oil revenues.
That effort aims to attract sustained Western investment in sectors ranging from tourism to technology and sports, reshaping Saudi Arabia’s global economic identity for the coming decades.
