Despite killing of journalist, U.S. firms woo Saudi deals
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Gathered under grand domes and crystal chandeliers for a glitzy investment forum nicknamed “Davos in the Desert,” business leaders on Tuesday called the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi terrible and sad, but said that it shouldn’t derail their deal-making or U.S.-Saudi relations.
They knew Saudi agents killed Khashoggi three weeks ago at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. And they knew their host, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was widely suspected of being involved, despite vehement official denials.
Marquee-name sponsors and chief executives, including Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone and AOL founder Steve Case had pulled out in protest. The conference website was crippled Monday by hackers angry about Khashoggi’s killing.
But thousands still came, in a wave of black Mercedes and Chevy Suburbans, through the conference center’s enormous stone archways and past elegant fountains, security agents manning a machine gun mounted atop a Dodge Ram pickup.
And when Mohammed arrived, they gave him a standing ovation.
American executives interviewed at the conference said they were jolted by Khashoggi’s gruesome killing. But they also said business ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia are far too deep and valuable to be disrupted by it.
One U.S. executive, who advises sovereign wealth funds, said that although the Khashoggi case was “shocking,” ultimately it would be only a “hiccup” in the business world.
“You support your friends in good times and bad,” the executive said.
“The trajectory [in Saudi Arabia] is toward more openness and transparency, but there are going to be bumps in the road.” He, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Todd Albert Nims, a Texan who lives in Riyadh and runs a filmmaking company, said he was born in Saudi Arabia, the son of an oil company executive, and has spent “half my life” in the country.
Nims said the killing of Khashoggi, who contributed opinion columns to The Washington Post, was “horrifying” but should not damage U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia.
“It’s not who these people are,” he said. “Saudi Arabia has been a friend. They have been a huge stabilizer in this region. We shouldn’t trash it all over one thing. It’s like a marriage. This is one day in the life of a marriage.”
President Donald Trump has said Khashoggi’s killing must be investigated, but he has stopped short of criticizing Mohammed, who has close ties to Jared Kushner, Trump’s adviser and son-inlaw. Trump has said he does not want the incident to interfere with billions of dollars in U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Reflecting Trump’s ambivalence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin canceled his scheduled appearance at the conference, but came to Riyadh anyway and sat for photos with Mohammed.
Chief executives who attended the conference included Patrick Pouyanne of French oil company Total and Paal Kibsgaard of Texasbased Schlumberger, the world’s largest oil field services company.
The event, officially called the Future Investment Initiative, an annual gathering that started last year, was a feast of gaudy excess.
It was held under the sandstone domes of the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center, in a vast main hall where waiting on every seat was a large hardcover book titled, “A Blue Print for the Twenty Second Century.”
As the lights went down in the packed hall, an actor on stage danced with a lighted drone flying above him. A voice boomed from massive speakers, mentioning Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers and Mark Zuckerberg: “dreamers.”
“The next generation of game changers is here, in this room,” the voice said to the vast crowd.
But, for a moment, the great hall was also filled with Jamal Khashoggi.
Lubna Olayan, an influential Saudi business leader, stepped to the stage to moderate the first panel discussion. But first, she told the audience that she had known the journalist and said, “May he rest in peace.”