More than 30 representatives of big business in Russia, led by the country's sovereign wealth fund, will be present at the "Future Investment Initiative" conference scheduled for next week in Saudi Arabia.
In a statement to the press on Friday, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said: "Representatives from RDIF and the Russian delegation are planning to participate in the main sessions and discussions of the Forum, contribute to talks and consultations on their specialist fields, and meet with the leadership of the Kingdom and key Saudi partners." The delegation will include Dmitry Konov, the CEO of petrochemical producer Sibur, and VTB Bank's Andrey Kostin.
Meanwhile, business leaders and politicians from Western Europe and the United States have been withdrawing from the event, citing concerns over the disappearance of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Yesterday, US President Donald Trump stated that "it certainly looks like" the journalist, who is also a US resident, is dead, and threatened with "very severe" consequences if Riyadh is found to be involved in his possible murder. On the other hand, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned against "meddling" in the situation and expressed hope it will be solved "in accordance with the law without any allegations."
