Davos in the Desert postponed amid Houthi attacks; Fink, Solomon were set to speak

Saudi Arabia has postponed its annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference until 2027. Earlier, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the event, scheduled to begin on October 26, would either be held entirely online or postponed. The decision came amid attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on the kingdom’s airports and capital. The attacks threaten Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to attract foreign investment, the WSJ notes.

The annual FII conference is known as “Davos in the Desert.” The Journal describes it as the country’s flagship investment conference and a centerpiece of Mohammed bin Salman’s program to transform the oil exporter into an international hub for business and tourism. The conference had been scheduled to take place in Riyadh on October 26-29. Speakers confirmed in late August included JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Citi Chair and CEO Jane Fraser, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, among others.

However, on Monday, amid increasingly frequent Houthi attacks, organizers announced that the conference would be postponed until 2027, Bloomberg reports. The exact dates have yet to be announced. “This decision has been taken to ensure that our milestone tenth edition delivers the full scale, quality, and impact that our partners, members, speakers, and delegates expect,” FII stated.

In 2025, Davos in the Desert generated agreements worth more than $50 billion. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan has said FII has facilitated more than $250 billion in deals since its inception, Bloomberg reports.

FII is not the only event the kingdom has had to postpone or cancel because of Houthi attacks. A summit of EU and Gulf leaders, Riyadh Fashion Week, the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament, and the PIF Saudi International golf tournament have also been put at risk, the WSJ reports. The disruption has spread across the region: the war with Iran had already prompted Dubai and Riyadh to postpone Dubai Financial Market’s investment conference, Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Forum, and Dubai Future Finance Week, while the Token2049 crypto conference was pushed back from April 2026 to April 2027.

In September, Houthi strikes on Saudi Aramco energy facilities and subsequent attacks on the kingdom’s south injured dozens of people. In October, an attack on Riyadh’s international airport killed 13 people and injured more than 300.

The business events industry has long been a tool of economic strategy for Gulf states seeking to position themselves as global hubs for business and finance. Its retrenchment adds to the region’s costs from the war, the WSJ writes.