Public Investment Fund Gov. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, center and on the screen, speaks in the "First Board of Changemakers: Geoeconomics" session of the eighth Future Investment Initiative (FII) Conference at King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Saudi Arabia's capital city of Riyadh, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of FII Institute

RIYADH — The eighth Future Investment Initiative (FII) Conference kicked off in Saudi Arabia's capital city of Riyadh, Tuesday (local time), aiming to shed light on the most critical challenges the world is facing today.

Often dubbed "Davos in the Desert," the annual event is known as the world's second-largest CEO and government summit after the World Economic Forum held annually in the Swiss city.

The previous year's FII Conference especially drew attention in Korea, as President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the event during his state visit to the kingdom for his summit with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Despite the rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East this year, over 7,000 participants from around the world gathered in Riyadh to share their global perspectives and unlock new frontiers for human advancement and impactful innovation.

The attendees include big shots from Wall Street and Silicon Valley, as well as senior executives of global energy companies and top policymakers.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will also deliver a speech during the event.

Among some 600 speakers at the conference are Korean businesspeople from various industries.

Samsung E&A CEO Namkoong Hong, for example, will join one of the panels to talk about resilient and sustainable construction of energy infrastructure on the second day of the conference.

There are also some Korean businesspeople participating in the event as part of the audience, such as the heads of Middle Eastern regional subsidiaries of Samsung C&T and Hyundai Motor.

They are expected to look for personal networks with global business and political leaders at the event.

Additionally, representatives from Korean startups will likely seek to strengthen their relations with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, in order to attract investments from the oil-rich country.

Participants in the eighth Future Investment Initiative Conference line up to enter the event's venue at King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Saudi Arabia's capital city of Riyadh, Tuesday (local time). Korea Times photo by Park Jae-hyuk

The three-day conference opened with FII Institute CEO Richard Attias' welcome remarks, and an opening speech by Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and chairman of Saudi Aramco.

“Today we call on each of you to be the leaders who do not see the world that is but that could be,” the FII Institute CEO said. “We have the power right here in this room to redefine the narrative to turn impossible into possible.”

The PIF governor, who also chairs the FII Institute, emphasized global challenges that are no longer isolated but interconnected.

“We have the responsibilities and the opportunities to shape the future that invests not only in our economies but in humanity itself,” the governor said. “As leaders and global investors we can transform today's challenges into tomorrow's opportunities building a vibrant future for the global economy and for all humanity.”

Their speeches were followed by a session titled “First Board of Changemakers: Geoeconomics.”

Participants in the eighth Future Investment Initiative Conference watches Carlyle Group Chairman David Rubenstein moderating the "First Board of Changemakers: Geoeconomics" session of the eighth Future Investment Initiative (FII) Conference at King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Saudi Arabia's capital city of Riyadh, Tuesday (local time). Korea Times photo by Park Jae-hyuk

Moderated by private equity firm The Carlyle Group's Chairman David Rubenstein, the session's speakers including the PIF governor and the heads of BlackRock, Citadel, Blackstone, Moderna and Sanofi discussed how to create new economic systems that would embrace innovation and rekindle collaboration toward global progress.

After their discussion, top bankers from Standard Chartered, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs talked about the possibility of the emergence of new financial leaders.

The FII Institute said that this year's conference will cover a broad range of topics, including the rise of the Global South, effective use of artificial intelligence technology and strategies for the energy transition.

In particular, the two presummits on Monday focused on investment opportunities in Africa and ways to increase women's professional and societal leadership for economic growth, according to the event's organizer.