RIYADH (AFP) – Saudi Arabia yesterday called for regional “stability”, warning of the effects of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war on global economic sentiment at the start of a summit attended by a host of Gaza mediators.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Palestinian leaders and high-ranking officials from other countries trying to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are on the guest list for the summit in Riyadh, capital of the world’s biggest crude oil exporter.
The Gaza war put “a lot of pressure” on the economic “mood”, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said at one of the first panel discussions of the two-day World Economic Forum (WEF) special meeting.
“I think cool-headed countries and leaders and people need to prevail, and you need to make sure that you actually de-escalate,” Jadaan said.
“The region needs stability. “The world is today walking a tightrope right now, trying to balance security and prosperity,” Saudi Planning Minister Faisal al-Ibrahim told a press conference on Saturday previewing the summit.
“We meet at a moment when one misjudgement or one miscalculation or one miscommunication will further exacerbate our challenges.”
WEF president Borge Brende told Saturday’s press conference there was “some new momentum now in the talks around the hostages, and also for… a possible way out of the impasse we are faced with in Gaza”.
However there will be no Israeli participation at the summit and Brende noted that formal mediation involving Qatar and Egypt was unfolding elsewhere.
“This is more an opportunity to have structured discussions” with “the key players”, he said.
From the outset Saudi Arabia has worked with other regional and global powers to try to contain the war in Gaza and avoid the type of conflagration that could derail its ambitious economic reform agenda known as Vision 2030.
Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, spoke optimistically about the deal in an interview with Fox News in September, but analysts say the war has made it more difficult.
Hosting international events such as the WEF meeting allows the kingdom to showcase social changes.
“Eight years into Vision 2030, we have demonstrated our willingness to lead the way towards a model of transformative growth that is innovative, inclusive and sustainable. And we’ve seen some of the results,” Ibrahim said on Saturday.
Yet questions persist about just how much of Vision 2030 will be achieved and when, with special scrutiny falling on signature projects such as NEOM, a planned futuristic megacity.
In December, the Saudi finance minister Jadaan said officials had decided to push the timeframe for some major projects past 2030, without specifying which ones, though he also noted that others would be accelerated.
