RIYADH - Saudi Arabia’s crown prince showed up only briefly this week at the kingdom’s flagship investment forum, which largely drew leaders and firms with strategic interest in the Gulf state and wrapped up with relatively meagre deals and an anticlimactic finale.
However, as Riyadh prepares to assume the Group of 20 presidency, its ability to once again draw big names after a Western boycott of last year’s event showed it starting to recover from the damage to the prince’s image that followed the murder of a prominent Saudi journalist. “I don’t think any of us feel that things are all back to normal. There are still a lot of unanswered questions,” a Europe-based executive said, but added the region was important for transformative technologies.
SoftBank Group Corp founder and CEO Masayoshi Son took the stage again after cancelling his speech last year. In 2017, seated beside Prince Mohammed, he pledged to a packed room to invest in the kingdom’s then-newly announced $500 billion NEOM mega-city.The de facto Saudi ruler, who never addressed the forum, attended remarks on Tuesday by the Jordanian and Indian leaders and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, with whom he has a close relationship.
“The animosity in Congress is remarkable, from the interns up to the representatives,” the participant said. “There are fewer CEOs . They do not want to be seen here.” “I’d liked to have seen greater emphasis on the progress of the reform plans that are integral to Vision 2030,” said Nomura Asset Management’s Tarek Fadlallah.
هلا
JamalKhashoggi
Or as the Saudi's put it 'Business forum boosts Saudi image, but some say more hijab needed'
Maybe they should try not killing journalists. That might help.
Why this photo?
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