Saudi Arabia announced the postponement of its influential “Davos in the Desert” investment conference, one of the world’s preeminent, in Riyadh over security concerns following continued Houthi attacks.
The annual Future Investment Initiative conference has been Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s flagship event for garnering global influence since its first edition in 2017. Since then, it has only been canceled once, in 2020, because of COVID-19. In a statement sent to multiple outlets, FII announced this year’s conference, originally scheduled for Oct. 26-29, was being postponed until next year.
“The FII Institute announces that the 10th edition of the Future Investment Initiative, FII10 ‘The Power of Legacy’, originally scheduled for October 26–29, 2026, in Riyadh, will now take place in 2027,” FII organizers said in an email statement to the National, adding that its replacement dates would be announced “very soon.”
“This decision has been taken to ensure that our milestone 10th edition delivers the full scale, quality, and impact that our partners, members, speakers and delegates expect,” they added.
The statement did not mention the Houthi attacks, but the timing of the announcement left little doubt. The kingdom’s other major international conferences, including the trade exhibition Intersec Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Retail Forum, set to take place Nov. 16-18 and Nov. 19 respectively, were postponed until October 2027 and March 2027, respectively.
The Six Kings Slam 2026, a tennis tournament that was set to begin on Wednesday, was previously delayed to late December.
World Wrestling Entertainment’s Crown Jewel Premium Live Event is still scheduled for Nov. 7, though doubts are beginning to arise about whether it will proceed. The State Department released a new warning to U.S. citizens in the Middle East to exercise increased vigilance in light of the new Houthi attacks.
“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance due to the complex security environment,” the statement reads. “Be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions. Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions.”
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Saudi Arabia led an international coalition to intervene in the Yemeni Civil War in 2015 after rebel Houthis seized the capital of Sanaa. The intervention soon embroiled the kingdom in a quagmire, which froze with a truce in 2022. The conflict was reignited in July after the Saudis bombed Sanaa airport to prevent a Houthi delegation from landing, setting off tit-for-tat strikes that have escalated into a new phase in the war, which has proven disastrous for the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council. The internationally recognized government lost nearly all the Red Sea coast and appears on the verge of losing the critical city of Taiz in southwest Yemen, a loss that would strip government control of four of Yemen’s five biggest cities.
Saudi Arabia has also faced repeated embarrassments from the Houthis, as they continue to expand their campaign against Saudi targets within the kingdom itself. They have recently carried out several major strikes on airports, shutting down the airspace of much of the country. An Oct. 10 strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 13 people, the deadliest attack on the kingdom in over a decade.