Saudi Arabia Postpones Its FII Investment Event After Houthi Attacks

The decision is a blow to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to project calm amid escalating missile and drone attacks from the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. The increasingly brazen strikes have undermined efforts that the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, has made to recast the oil-dependent kingdom into a hub for global tourism, business and sports.

The Future Investment Initiative summit, which last year drew over 8,000 participants and featured prominent business and financial leaders as speakers, including Larry Fink of BlackRock and Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase, is Saudi Arabia’s premier venue to pitch its post-oil plans to the world.

But deadly strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month have killed at least 13 people and injured hundreds of others, forcing the facility to close and causing thousands of flight cancellations.

Saudi Arabia further restricted flights to and from its main airport in Riyadh this weekend, saying that no flights would be allowed to arrive or depart without explicit prior permission. The change was made in an official notice that took effect on Saturday night, local time, with no end date.

Before the FII Institute and the authorities decided to postpone the event, many had already canceled their plans to attend while others who had planned to attend were rerouting their travel through neighboring Bahrain.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/19/business/saudi-investment-fii-houthis.html