<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) \u2014 A high-profile economic forum in Saudi Arabia began on Tuesday in Riyadh, the kingdom\u2019s first major event on the world stage since the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.<\/p>\n
The Future Investment Initiative forum is the brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aimed at drawing more foreign investment into the kingdom and to help create desperately needed jobs for its youthful population.<\/p>\n
Prince Mohammed was not immediately at the forum when it started.<\/p>\n
The forum last year proved to be a glitzy affair that drew more international business attention to the kingdom. This year\u2019s event meanwhile has seen many top business leaders and officials drop out over Khashoggi\u2019s Oct. 2 slaying.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we gather here in Riyadh this morning, it is natural that our thoughts tend to focus on recent events surrounding the death of Jamal Khashoggi \u2014 a writer, a journalist and a Saudi journalist known to many of us,\u201d said Lubna Olayan, a Saudi businesswoman moderating the forum\u2019s first panel. \u201cMay he rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that such \u201cterrible acts reported in recent weeks are alien to our culture and DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n
The killing of Khashoggi has marred the prince\u2019s standing, especially amid Turkish media reports a member of his entourage on trips abroad allegedly took part in the slaying and made phone calls to the prince\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia, which for weeks maintained Khashoggi had left the consulate, on Saturday acknowledged he had been killed there in a \u201cfistfight.\u201d Turkish media reports and officials maintain that a 15-member Saudi team flew to Istanbul on Oct. 2, knowing Khashoggi would enter the consulate to get a document he needed to get married. Once he was inside, the Saudis accosted Khashoggi, cut off his fingers, killed and dismembered the 59-year-old writer, according to Turkish media reports.<\/p>\n
The killing has also thrown into question whether Western executives will continue business as usual with the crown prince, who as King Salman\u2019s favored son is the second most powerful man in the kingdom.<\/p>\n
Last year, the investment forum grabbed headlines when Prince Mohammed wowed the crowd of global business titans with pledges to lead the ultraconservative kingdom toward \u201cmoderate Islam.\u201d He also announced plans to build a $500 billion futuristic city in the desert.<\/p>\n
He spoke on stage alongside Stephen Schwarzman of U.S. private equity firm Blackstone and Masayoshi Son of Japan\u2019s technology conglomerate SoftBank.<\/p>\n
Schwarzman is among those who\u2019ve backed out of attending this year. Others include U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who met with Prince Mohammed separately before the forum, according to Saudi state television.<\/p>\n
Among its many investments domestically and abroad, Saudi Arabia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund, which the crown prince oversees, has invested $20 billion in a U.S.-focused infrastructure fund with Blackstone.<\/p>\n
The Public Investment Fund has also invested $3.5 billion in ride-sharing firm Uber, whose CEO also backed out of attending this year\u2019s forum.<\/p>\n
Just days after last year\u2019s forum, the emboldened prince launched a sweeping shakedown of Saudi Arabia\u2019s wealthiest businessmen and top princes for alleged corruption, transforming the same Ritz-Carlton hotel that had earlier hosted the investment forum into a prison for the country\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n
The crackdown \u2014 a surprise move by the prince, who\u2019s upended the kingdom\u2019s reputation for slow, cautions reforms \u2014 rattled investors.<\/p>\n
Alongside moves like allowing cinemas to open and lifting a ban on women driving, the crown prince has led a stifling crackdown on dissent. Dozens of critics and activists have been detained, including several women and their supporters who had long pushed for the right to drive.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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