Dozens of global policymakers and tycoons will attend a Saudi investment summit starting Tuesday, helping the kingdom turn the page on a critic's murder that triggered a mass boycott last year.
A strong turnout at the three-day Future Investment Initiative (FII), nicknamed "Davos in the desert", would further rehabilitate de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's image, a year on from the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Washington Post columnist's murder last October at Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate triggered one of the top crude exporter's worst crises and prompted a wave of business and political leaders to pull out of the glitzy annual conference at the last minute.
But the event, aimed at projecting the insular kingdom as a dynamic investment destination, is set for a reboot this year as global outrage dissipates.
Leading the high-profile attendees are Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, guests of honour who are set to address the conference, a Western official told AFP.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will also lead a high-powered American delegation including Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's senior advisor and son-in-law.
"This is the biggest event on the annual business calendar in Saudi Arabia," said Steffen Hertog, an associate professor at the London School of Economics.
"International businesses have moved on from Khashoggi."
"I believe just the opposite. Corporate leaders should be having a public dialogue about it. Not because everything in Saudi Arabia is perfect -- but precisely because everything is not."
"This year... the optics are no longer seen as a reason to boycott such an important event. Global businesses want to do business in Saudi and Saudi is inviting (them) with open arms."
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