Participants arrived at King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center in Riyadh on Tuesday (October 23) for the inaugurual day of Saudi's three-day investment summit.
Dubbed “Davos in the Desert” by Saudi Arabia, the event comes amid an international outcry over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
Despite the string of dropouts from the conference, Saudi Arabia has vowed to go ahead with the conference.
The absence of media and technology executives is likely to cast a shadow over the event, which has become the biggest show for investors to promote Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reform vision.