With multi-billion-dollar investment agreements, two appearances and one inspiring yet defiant speech by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the kingdom ended the three-day Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh on Thursday.
It was a bigger success than many had envisaged before Tuesday when the second chapter of the conference kicked off in Riyadh. Deals worth over $60 billion dollars, including more than $34bn of investment going into the kingdom’s energy sector alone is a clear proof of the event’s success, which many thought lacked the gloss, clouded by the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey earlier this month.
The crown prince, who made an appearance on day one of the event, spoke at the concluding session of day two along with Prince Salman Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain and Saad Hariri, the prime minister of Lebanon. His address was wide ranging, including everything from the “heinous” murder, the country’s cooperation and relations with Turkey, to his vision of the Saudi economy and the region saying “the coming renaissance in the next 30 years will be in the Middle East.”
“Davos in the Desert”, as the event is called, boasted more than 150 speakers from 140 different organisations and 17 global partner entities.
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Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Jamal Khashoggi killing 'heinous crime that cannot be justified'
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Despite some top executives of western financial institutions and corporations withdrawing from the event, FII still attracted the top brass of sovereign wealth funds, energy companies, infrastructure firms and global consultancies. There was no shortage of support from the heads of state from the Middle East, Pakistan and as far away as Ethiopia, Gabon and Senegal.
The regional and mid-level executives of banks including JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, HSBC and Standard Chartered attended the event, a clear message that as far as they were concerned, it was business as usual.
In terms of deals and agreements, Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil-producing company, signed 15 preliminary agreements worth $34bn with leading energy and oil services companies. The pacts were signed with 14 companies, including Total, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Acwa Power, Sumitomo Norinco New Energy, Baker Hughes, Schlumberger and Halliburton.
"The [deals] reflect both Saudi Aramco’s and the kingdom’s international partnership strategies and the determination to diversify the economy, enhance the domestic investment environment and boost employment opportunities," Aramco said. "They support Saudi Aramco’s forward-looking strategy across business units, including downstream, offshore and engineering."
Several agreements in mineral and mining and infrastructure spaces including construction of rail road projects in the kingdom were also signed.
On day two of the event, Gems Education and Hassana Investment company, the arm of Saudi Arabia’s General Organisation for Social Insurance also signed a partnership to invest up to $800 million over the next decade to acquire and develop schools in the kingdom.
NMC Health signed also with Hassana a preliminary agreement to invest up to 6bn riyals (Dh6.05bn) in healthcare facilities in the kingdom over the next five years.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
Company%20Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
FIXTURES
Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
