The ninth edition of the Future Investment Initiative flagship conference (FII9), which concluded in Riyadh recently saw more than $50 billion in signed agreements and investment pledges. The deals spanned artificial intelligence, advanced technology, renewable energy and infrastructure.
The event, organised by the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute from October 27 to 30, under the theme “The Key to Prosperity: Unlocking New Frontiers of Growth”, posted record-breaking numbers and impact.
Over 9,000 delegates attended the conference, including more than 600 media and 2,000 membership participants, marking the event’s largest turnout to date. More than 650 speakers, 250 sessions, and 20 heads of state joined the event, reflecting its pronounced geopolitical reach.
The event convened participants from around 90 countries, encompassing government ministers, global CEOs, investors, and tech entrepreneurs.
Major announcements
Among the major announcements at the event were:
* Renewable energy partnerships between ACWA Power, Aramco, and global utilities to expand low-carbon generation capacity.
* AI and data-infrastructure projects involving HUMAIN, Qualcomm, Blackstone, and Saudi technology entities, supporting the creation of sovereign compute and AI-training facilities.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF), headed by its Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, reaffirmed that the FII platform has now enabled over $250 billion in cumulative deals since inception, reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s ambition as a global investment hub.
The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, used her keynote presence to announce a new UK–Gulf trade-and-investment package totaling GBP6.4 billion ($8.4 billion), strengthening UK-Saudi trade and advanced-technology cooperation.
The conference underscored strong multilateral engagement. The presence of senior leaders from China (including Vice-President Han Zheng), Russia (via Russian Direct Investment Fund’s Kirill Dmitriev), and the United States reinforced the event’s standing as a global geo-economic nexus.
Tech and innovation took centre-stage with this edition featuring 52% of speakers drawn from the technology sector, emphasising that AI, robotics, deep-tech, and sovereign infrastructure are now fully embedded in the investment narrative.
This year’s FII9 functioned as more than a conference: it served as a platform for the discussion of the future of global investment, characterised by:
* Public-private partnership at scale, where governments and the private sector commit as co-owners of transformation agendas.
* Geoeconomic diversification, where investment flows are less constrained by traditional West-centric channels and more distributed across the Global South, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
* Technology-first infrastructure, where AI systems, sovereign compute, advanced manufacturing, and green energy are positioned as national-economic imperatives, not just corporate projects.
* Narrative leadership, as global investors and delegations from countries such as the UK, USA, China, and Russia signal that FII is central to shaping the investment diplomacy of our era.
As FII9 closes its doors, the focus now shifts to implementation and execution. The deals announced must transition into impact measurable job creation, GDP growth, innovation ecosystem, and resilient infrastructure.
“The narrative of ‘prosperity’ being unlocked must be validated now by delivery, value building, collaboration, inclusive growth, aligning with the FII Institute’s mission of Impact on Humanity,” said Richard Attias, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Acting CEO of FII Institute.
Saudi Arabia, through its Vision 2030 platforms, will continue to leverage FII as a strategic convening mechanism for sovereign investment, innovation diplomacy, and regional leadership. Global participants will translate the dialogue into action, following through on bilateral, conclaves, scaling of joint ventures, and ecosystem building beyond Riyadh, a statement said. - TradeArabia News Service
