Saudi Arabia on Monday postponed its major annual investors conference until 2027, as Iran-backed Houthi militants intensified their missile and drone attacks on the kingdom in recent weeks.
The Future Investment Initiative was originally scheduled to take place in the Saudi capital Riyadh from October 26-29. “We will announce the new dates for 2027 very soon,” the conference organizers said in a press release.
The decision to postpone the conference comes after the Houthis attacked Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on October 10, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 300.
Some of the biggest names in business and finance were featured as speakers for the conference. They included Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, David Solomon of Goldman Sachs, Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone, Larry Fink of BlackRock and Jane Fraser of Citigroup.
CNBC has learned that some attendees and speakers planned to travel to Saudi Arabia by first flying to Bahrain and then driving five hours to Riyadh.
This screenshot taken from CCTV footage shown on a screen during a Saudi-led coalition press conference in Riyadh on October 15, 2026, and made available via AFPTV, shows what the coalition says was a Houthi attack on Abha International Airport on October 7, 2026.
– | Afp | Getty Images
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund launched the Future Investment Initiative in 2017. The conference played a key role in Riyadh’s plans to diversify its oil-dependent economy. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled the ambitious NEOM megaproject at the first conference in 2017.
The decision to postpone the conference underscores the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East as the war between the United States and Iran spreads across the region. Houthi militants have launched repeated waves of missile and drone strikes against Saudi Arabia since the deadly airport attack earlier this month.
The Houthis claimed Monday that they had again attacked King Khalid International Airport; Abha International Airport, in southwest Saudi Arabia, near Yemen; Saudi Aramco facilities at Yanbu on the Red Sea coast; the Shaybah oil field and the Saudi naval forces.
The Saudi army destroyed several drones launched in the Riyadh region on Friday and Saturday, a spokesperson for the kingdom’s armed forces said. Missiles launched over the Red Sea were also intercepted on Friday, including one heading towards the port city and oil terminal of Yanbu, the spokesperson said.
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