Saudi Arabia postpones FII to 2027 amid Houthi strikes

Saudi Arabia's flagship Future Investment Initiative (FII) has been postponed to 2027, RT reported on October 20, citing an announcement by organisers. The delay comes as renewed fighting with Yemen's Houthis disrupts activity in the kingdom.

FII Institute chief executive Dr. Maha Bint Mishari Al Saud said in a press release on Monday that the decision reflected a commitment to the forum's partners, members, speakers and delegates. Revised dates for 2027 would be announced soon, she said. While the report links the postponement to Houthi strikes, the quoted passage from her statement does not explicitly name the attacks as its cause.

Launched in 2017 and widely known as “Davos in the Desert”, the conference convenes political leaders, corporate executives and international investors. BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink, Alphabet president and chief investment officer Ruth Porat, and Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon had been expected to attend.

Renewed fighting disrupts business

The report also cites Al Jazeera as saying that government agencies and businesses in Riyadh, including those at Kingdom Center and King Abdullah Financial District, had directed some employees to work remotely.

According to the account, the latest confrontation began in July when Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces attacked the airport in Houthi-controlled Sanaa. The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, blamed Riyadh. The fighting followed years of relative calm after a UN-brokered truce in 2022.

The Houthis subsequently launched missile attacks and declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. The report describes that declaration as a response to restrictions on Houthi-controlled Yemeni ports and airports imposed by the Saudi-led coalition since its intervention in March 2015.

It also reports Houthi territorial gains along Yemen's Red Sea coast near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, adding pressure on shipping while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is described as heavily disrupted by the US-Iran conflict. These battlefield and shipping developments have not been independently verified by BharatVox.

Both sides report civilian casualties

Saudi authorities said multiple Houthi attacks on Riyadh airport earlier in October killed at least 14 people and injured more than 300, according to the report.

Separately, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said on Monday that Saudi strikes had killed 141 people and wounded 395 since September 3. It said most of the casualties were women and children.

The casualty figures come from authorities on opposing sides of the conflict, cover different periods and have not been independently verified by BharatVox.