Şimşek to hold talks, attend FII forum in Saudi Arabia

ANKARA

Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has traveled to Saudi Arabia to attend the eighth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) and hold talks with government officials and investors.

On the margins of the event, Şimşek will hold talks with U.K. Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security Douglas Garven Alexander, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Bahrain’s Finance and National Economy Minister Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa, according to sources at the Finance Ministry.

Şimşek also delivers a speech as a keynote speaker at a panel at the FII.

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, the minister will attend investor meetings, the sources said.

Global leaders will meet for the three-day event, sometimes referred to as "Davos in the Desert” in Saudi Arabia, which is expected to draw more than 7,000 delegates including TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and the chief executives of Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

For the second year in a row, conflict in the Middle East is likely to shape panel discussions and side meetings.

FII Institute CEO Richard Attias told a press conference in Riyadh this month that the gathering is not meant to focus on "politics" and should instead tackle big-picture investments "to build a better world."