RIYADH (Middle East Eye) – U.S. government officials have not been invited to a Saudi investment conference planned for later this month, with the organizer saying they did not want the gathering “to become a political platform”.
The decision not to invite American officials, a departure from previous years, comes as tensions rise between longtime partners Washington and Riyadh over the Saudi-led OPEC+’s recent vote to cut oil production by up to two million barrels per day from November.
The Future Investment Initiative (FII), a three-day conference set to begin on 25 October in Riyadh, typically draws Wall Street titans and high-ranking officials from around the world. And up to 400 American CEOs are expected to participate this year, said Richard Attias, CEO of the group behind the event.
It is often referred to as “Davos in the Desert”.
Saudi Arabia has in recent days rejected U.S. accusations it has aligned itself with Russia amid the Ukraine war by making oil production cuts to drive up crude prices, insisting it was purely a business decision.
In a speech broadcast on Sunday night, Saudi King Salman insisted his country was “working hard, within its energy strategy, to support the stability and balance of global oil markets”.
Steven Mnuchin, who served as treasury secretary under former U.S. president Donald Trump, addressed FII during its debut in 2017, though he pulled out the following year amid global outrage over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Last year’s event was attended by Don Graves, deputy commerce secretary under current U.S. President Joe Biden.
Asked about .U.S attendance this year, Richard Attias, the conference organizer, told AFP: “We didn’t invite any U.S. government” figures.
“We are not inviting too many politicians... because I realized that when you have political leaders on stage, the attention of the media, let’s be very frank, is diverted to the political agenda, and we don’t want FII to become a political platform.”
The decision follows a move by the Biden administration last week to cancel a meeting with Saudi Arabia which would have focused on integrated air and missile defence. Several U.S. lawmakers within Biden’s Democratic party have also called for suspending military sales and cooperation with Riyadh.