FII CEO says investing in people is best answer to conflict

The governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) acknowledged the “uncertain” times of the world as he opened this year’s Future Investment Initiative conference. FII CEO Richard Attias said the best way to move forward was to invest in people, admitting that Gaza was on everyone’s mind.

Fighting in Gaza and Israel has once again rocked the region, a part of the world that US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said just a few weeks ago was the “quietest” it had been in years.

Following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, some questioned what the outcome of the FII conference in Riyadh would be.

“The best answer to conflict is to move forward and to invest in people. The minute you stop, you unfortunately don’t help the resolution of conflict,” Attias said at the conclusion of the conference held in Riyadh from Tuesday to Thursday.

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said the conflict in Gaza could destabilize the region, while others, including Franklin Templeton CEO Jennifer Johnson and Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters, struck a more optimistic tone provided the conflict was contained.

Asked about the fighting in Gaza and its effect on the FII conference, Attias said: “You can see it is on the mind of everyone, but no impact on the global economic conversation.

“Because definitely we need to move forward… and invest in people.”

The FII CEO said halting investment in people would not help the situation in the region. “The notion of prosperity is brought by peace. So, if you invest in people, if you invest in a project, this is stronger than any conflicts,” he said.

On the sidelines, conversations between business executives revolved around the violence in the region and the potential impact on the broader Middle East.

However, optimism for Saudi Arabia’s planned accomplishments linked to Vision 2030 and its current rate of growth was high.

Attias also highlighted the fact that the conference was taking place in the Saudi capital. “The global conversation is happening in Riyadh, showing that Riyadh is definitely a hub now, a global new hub.”

And despite several last-minute cancellations, including Manchester United Chairman Avram Glazer, former US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Palantir CEO Alex Karp, Attias said, “We had an amazing three days of global conversation.”

The 2023 edition, held at the Ritz-Carlton, marked the first time the organizers charged for entry, with tickets as high as $15,000 per attendee.

The main themes of the finance and investment conference targeted artificial intelligence and robotics, education, healthcare and sustainability.

The annual conference was launched in 2017 to bring together investors, policymakers, government officials and international private-sector executives.

Dubbed ‘Davos in the desert,’ the summit has seen the participation of Jordan King Abdullah, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, India’s Reliance Industry’s Chairman Mukesh Ambani, and many more.