Live blog update| Khashoggi
This is an entry from: LIVE: Erdogan says Turkey has evidence Khashoggi murder was premeditated

Leaders desert 'Davos in the Desert'

23 October 2018 11:56 BST

It was meant to be an occasion where Saudi Arabia could showcase itself to some of the biggest and most-powerful political and business leaders on the planet.

But the major investment conference dubbed “Davos in the Desert” has instead been deserted by many of the key figures set to attend as the Khashoggi crisis has grown.

Saudi employees print badges of participants of the Future Investment Initiative conference. (AP)
The Future Investment Initiative (FII) 2018 kicked off on Tuesday hours before Erdogan is due to speak.

The darling of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), it seeks to attract investment and help kick-start the Saudi leader’s Vision 2030 economic reform programme.

Noticeably absent are Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and US Treasure Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who is still in Riyadh and met with MBS on Monday.

Trade and economics minsters from European heavyweights Britain, France and the Netherlands have also pulled out.

Meanwhile, top figures from corporate giants Uber, Ford and JPMorgan are also not attending. Media partners such as CNN, Bloomberg and the Financial Times have also pulled the plug on their support.

It’s not a good start, and with the people behind the real Davos conference, the World Economic Forum, issuing a statement on Monday objecting to FII’s use of its brand, the image of the Riyadh version could be tainted for ever.